Ndidi Emefiele
Drawing on cultural, gendered and personal references, Ndidi Emefiele (b. 1987, Bournemouth, United Kingdom) creates layered figurative compositions that conjure the complexity of contemporary experience and female identity. Emerging out of the Nigerian panorama, the strength of her narrative becomes even more pronounced as she encompasses collage and textiles conveying a strong sense of cultural heritage inspired by her homeland. Her incredibly vivid canvases embrace a vision of women as vibrant, self-confident characters who exist in relation to each other in a universe where the male is absent. Her figures make no attempt to fulfil male expectations. Her newest body of works shows the artist less concerned with the outward, and how women are perceived and perceive themselves, but more with the inward. These new works address profound questions of life and death, which affect us all. Although the inspiration behind them is highly personal, her ability to touch so many of us derives from their extreme emotivity.
Ndidi Emefiele, Rehearsing Death, 2020, mixed technique on canvas, 209 x 296 cm
