Limitless Interpretation
Sejiro Avoseh (b. 1990 in Lagos Nigeria) lives and works in Canterbury UK. He received his MA in fine art from the University for the Creative Arts Canterbury in 2022. Art is a torrent of ideas for Avoseh. Thoughts are frenzied and overlap with one another. It is unrestricted in its interpretation and loose in its conveyance. ‘I believe that as a human, I am always moving’ shares Avoseh. For him, art is a barrage of thoughts. The ideas are frenetic, bleeding into one another. It is loose in carriage, and limitless in interpretation.
Education
Raised in Lagos suburbs, he was immersed in drawing, and craft in secondary school and eventually chose to expand his expertise at Lagos State Polytechnic in 2013. By 2017, he had been selected as one of Rele Arts Foundation Young Contemporaries, and performed live art at the maiden Art X event.
MORE INFormation
The Native, a publication that centers on African music commissioned him to make a
portrait of Wizkid, a Nigerian superstar. Instead of approaching this work conventionally, Avoseh conjured all Wizkid’s portraits into one painting, managing to capture both essence and the evolution of his artistry. The painting leaves clues of a man whose imagination runs wild.
Avoseh’s style is almost outlandish, but the man himself is guarded. Over the years, he found and formed a distinct style, drawing inspiration from within and admiring works from Fracis Bacon, George Condo, Goya, Basquiat, and Picasso.
‘My style is expressive figuration, and it was discovered through a personal quest to be different. The occurring themes and visual language in my work portrays the concept of ephemeral transitions. My work is a figurative abstracted representation of my timeshared in space and spaces.’
In May, a collection of Avoseh’s works was exhibited at Kravets Wehby Gallery in New
York titled Aliens in Spaces. This provides commentary on the aftermath of the
Nigerian mass exodus to foreign countries., euphoria among Nigerians who want to
escape an overpopulated landmass stifled of opportunity. When asked why Avoseh left
Nigeria in 2021, he said ‘I left because home was feeling like the mouth of a shark.’
But beyond country lines, there lies other challenges Nigerians face after migration; a
pressing need to adapt to different cultures, sometimes newer ways to communicate. For
an African– to step out of the country is to realize one’s skin color is black. It is to wander through harsh weather in search of acceptance. We are aliens traveling through spaces, this is not our land. Avoseh anticipates, and reacts to these hardships in his works, he interprets personal moments as grotesque paintings. Seviyon in Green Gown portrays himself, daughter
and son. Spiderman Cap is a portrait of his son enjoying the trivialities that come with
childhood. When asked why he chooses to represent himself, and family in images this
deformed, he shares ‘it is a style that will last and I do it to protect myself. Before anyone calls me a monkey, I have represented myself as a deformed alien. So nothing gets to me at this point.’
His last exhibition before Aliens in Spaces, titled Abuse of Innocence was held at
Angels & Muse in Lagos. It is strong commentary on politics, citizenship and senseless violence, almost macabre in presentation. It is frenzied. Colorful but dark in its themes. One can hardly make out specific subjects in these works, but the message of oppression screams through palettes and brush strokes.
Avoseh has since moved on from political commentary to introspective, autobiographical works. Cramming meanings that are urgent to him yet relevant to us through shared experiences. The works live through him beyond. During his stay in New York, Avoseh shared an image of a collection, a painting of his alongside one of Basquiat’s works. They sit together as timeless pieces, chaotic pieces that have made it out of imagination to bring therapy to their creators and the world. Avoseh remains driven by purpose, aspiring to live and leave something behind.
Art Exhibitions / Residency Programs.
2023.
Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York,USA. Alien in Spaces (Solo Exhibition)
Kravets Wehby Gallery, New York,USA. Stir Crazy (Group Exhibition)
https://www.kravetswehbygallery.com/stir-crazy
Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, USA. A Curated Flashback (Group Exhibition)
2022
The La Brea Studio Residency, Los Angeles,USA
2021
Afikaris Gallery, Paris, France.
Resiste (Group Exhibition)
2020
National Museum Lagos, Nigeria
Rele Arts Foundation, Young Contemporary Exhibition.
Angels and Muse, Lagos, Nigeria.
Abuse of Innocence (Solo Exhibition)
Espaco Luanda Art, Luanda, Angola.
Art Residency
2019
Rele Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria.
‘When we are not what we are’ (Solo Exhibition)
ART FAIRS AND AUCTIONS
Dubai Art fair, 2020.
Rele gallery.
FNB Art jobourg, 2019
Rele gallery
COLLABORATION AND NOTABLE
COMMISSIONS
Sandwich Magazine. 2021
Native Magazine. 2022
