Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremiah Onifadé.
Hi Jeremiah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I was born in Kaduna, Nigeria where I was raised until my early teenage years. After a religious crisis that took several lives and those of my friends and neighbors, my family relocated to Ibadan, a city located in southwestern Nigeria. The aftermath of the fatal riot as well as relocation was not an uneasy one for my parents financially, hence we had to start life afresh struggling to make ends meet. Every little cash meant a lot to us as we had very little to live on after losing our valuables (both business and assets) to the Kaduna riot.
No sooner than when we arrived in our new strange home came the quick need for adaptation for my siblings and I. We quickly realized the changes when my brother and I would walk about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) to and from school to save money as compared to our early life when we were driven to school. We’d run errands and also create graphic images for folks in exchange for money and sometimes food. With all these happening I quickly understood how the mature society around me worked, how our society functioned, and how people relate with one another. I grew overnight. I wanted a better condition, life, and one with options as well as opportunities. Oftentimes, I’d use a friend’s art studio to sketch, draw and make designs for people, and on the side, I’d express myself and paint what I really wanted then save them in a portfolio. I’d get lost imagining while painting in the studio, the colors, the beauty, the stories I was able to rewrite. I loved and use art as a means of catharsis to live. Some years after secondary school (high school) I heard of Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA so I gave it a shot. Luckily, I got admitted but I couldn’t afford the tuition so I deferred and mailed in my art portfolio. That earned me a partial scholarship, so I moved to Georgia.
After a semester in school, I dropped out because I couldn’t afford it. A few lucky events happened and I was in Dallas, I joined the military and went back to school to study Art. After my associate’s degree, I began to understand what art was really about. How the twist, turns, and experiences in my life all meant something. During my spare time, I studied art history and got interested in the various art periods and the significant artist from Pliny the Elder to Benin art and Renaissance, Impressionism, as well as contemporary art.
After finishing my master’s, I decided to open a studio art practice where I make paintings, sculptures, videos, and performances that explores the relationships between human emotions, actions, and reactions within societies. Most especially, I interrogate the emotions of black people and how it has been accepted in societies. I have been lucky to be included in some group shows as well as a solo show. I hope to continue to create artworks and conversational stories using my experience and life as the subject matter.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I wish it has been a smooth road, however, without the obstacles and challenges I experienced I wouldn’t have had an art practice to share. The struggle included understanding what an art practice was, how to start one without any mentor/guides or help, how to relive my past when sharing it with others considering there are other people of color going through the same situation, and how to build new relationships with people and institutions so as to get where I want to.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I make paintings, sculptures, videos, and performances that examine the relationships between human emotions, actions, and reactions within societies.
Drawing on personal experiences and art historical, I created visual languages called ORBS and CODS which characterizes brown figures floating in a multi-colored sanctuary of their own as a visual language to explore with. As a means of catharsis, I interrogate the human “cultural identity”, “mind” and “belief” as I construct a confluence of surreal world and abstraction which explores the politics, history, and the socio-economic state of the environment I grew up in within Nigeria while mapping it against my present cross-cultural life in America. My paintings and sculptures are often made with acrylic, oil sticks, pastel, ijebu garri, wood, and fabric.
I am currently working on a new body of work that explores the individuals of a community, their lives, and how relevant their community was to their society. I am also working on my first video performance art as well as a larger-than-life sculpture.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I like best about Dallas are its diversity and kindness. I don’t dislike anything about Dallas, however, what I’d like to see more of is the intentional invitation and support of black artists, creatives, entrepreneurs, and businesses by reputable institutions, bodies, and organizations because after all this world is just one blue dot of luck.
Contact Info:
- Email: studioadmin@jeremiahonifade.com
- Website: www.jeremiahonifade.com
- Instagram: @JeremiahOnifade
Image Credits
Jaifeng Lan
