Eniwaye Oluwaseyi

NG, 1994
  • resident
    • 2023 – 2025

My paintings and drawings embody expressions that flow between moments of observation and moments of imagination. 
The body of works created during this period are set within lived and imagined experiences, offering nuances and alluding both to historical references and contemporary practices—creating compositions that divulge the multi-faceted sociopolitical and cultural context of a black body in a new and contemporary environment. 

Consciously immersing himself in a deep introspection, Oluwaseyi harnesses detailed thoughts and emotions to capture his interpretations and reconstruct images through his compositions. In the pieces, you will see figures awash in deep, rich, brown-black tones, as well as bright shades of red and yellow, alluding to the minority community of albinos within the African context—combined with myriad visual references to the art-historical canon. 
Each painting has undergone various augmentations, a testament to the difficulty the black body continually undergoes to conform to the rules and ideas of orderliness found in these new environments. 

Swaths of colour reveal themselves through layering, removal,and repainting. This enables the images to slowly and continually evoke the newly imagined and yet unreal psychological spaces within which black bodies thrive or rebel, outside the burden to conform both within and outside the purview of the continental (African) perimeter. This process is critical in itself, as it allows for deep and necessary reflection and revelation—both individually and collectively. 

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Yellow blossom, 2021

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