My work is rooted in my lived experiences, memories and imagination. I use painting as a way to explore my internal world, the things I have experienced, the things I have grown from, and the subjects I feel are not spoken about enough.

A central idea within my work is the relationship between those who are remembered and those who are overlooked. I am interested in the people, experiences and details that can easily be passed over, despite carrying their own stories. This might be an experience of being unwell, the people who care for us during those moments, or everyday experiences where seemingly neutral rules and expectations are not experienced equally by everyone. Through painting these moments, I want to draw attention to what can otherwise become invisible.

My Nigerian heritage is an important part of this. I incorporate markings inspired by the historic Ile Ife bronze heads, which have long fascinated me. They are not spoken about enough, and incorporating their distinctive facial markings into my figures gives me an opportunity to bring them into conversations about my work. There is also something personal in carrying these images with me as I move through new experiences and challenge expectations of what I am capable of. The history of the Ile Ife bronzes, including the disbelief that such sophisticated works could have been made by people in Nigeria, resonates with my own desire to exceed assumptions.

Being a British Nigerian woman also shapes how I understand belonging. I grew up between cultures, feeling at times that I was not quite enough of one or the other. My work allows me to explore that experience alongside the expectations placed on me growing up, and to question what we are told our lives should look like.

Music is another important part of my process. When I listen to a song, a storyline often plays in my mind. I connect lyrics and emotions to my own experiences, memories and spirituality, sometimes finding meaning in a song that was never intended to be there. I often listen to the same song repeatedly while painting, allowing myself to remain within the emotional state that first inspired the work.

Ultimately, my work is about growth and transformation. I believe we are not meant to feel positive all the time. Joy, anger, pain, stillness and uncertainty all have a place in our lives, and sometimes it is through the difficult emotions that we grow. My spirituality and relationship with the most high shape this belief: that love does not mean avoiding difficult feelings, but learning to accept them, understand ourselves and find peace within them.

I want my paintings to create space for people to feel, reflect and perhaps recognise something of themselves. If a feeling, memory or question stays with someone after they leave the work, then the painting has continued its journey beyond me.