FROM SOCIAL observations to pen on paper, Suowari continues to do what she loves in her latest exhibition The Way They See Us.
Including over ten new portraits of her iconic ballpoint pen style, this exhibition also celebrates art beyond the paper, with performance, poetry and installation art all playing a key role in this story.
Having recently been offered a place to study at The Slade School of Fine Art, this exhibition precedes Suowari’s move to the UK, as she arrives in style with her first UK solo show.
Through her highly skilled mark making, Suowari has earned her title as a draughtsman.
Harking back to her childhood calling, she heroes the humble ballpoint pen with its ability to create precise contrasts through line.
Taking several months to finish each work, the details bear its creation with the layered strokes presenting the experiences that condition the individual.
On her philosophy of layering Suowari says: “I like to look at each stroke as the human experience.
“One experience, one stroke – an the gathering, and layering, and falling together creates the person and their character.”
The Way They See Us is a fictional narrative series based on socio-cultural references from the artist’s hometown of Osubi in Delta state, Nigeria.
The story follows three protagonists who risk it all to unify their community in the face of tragedy. It bears the idea of embracing differences, with tribes united through love, curiosity and acceptance.
The exhibition seeks to answer the peculiarities of rejection and prejudice surrounding the concepts of identity and the many implications that emanate from it.
With narrowing focus on mental health, it aims to develop simple solutions to the complex ideologies around acceptance.
Across artistic disciplines, Suowari challenges these stigmas surrounding perception, and
identity.
The Way they See Us
Jacqueline Suowari
October 1-31
https://www.londonlighthousestudio.com/upcoming-shows/
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Jacqueline’s quest to give expression and interpretation to human conditions is both intriguing and exhilarating. The 21st century has thrown up, more than previous times, the desperate need for human connectedness that thrives on the liberating disregard for previous barriers posed by race, culture, color, religion and social status. This is what I think, she’s about. The world needs to look at the human condition in a new way. Time to unmask and take the risk of being seen and accepted as we really are without feeling less. THE WAY THEY SEE US is a heart cry and genuine attempt to call attention to these issues. I find Jacqueline Suowari’s work simply breathtaking.