I Know the Shadows Will Always Be There

" I Know the Shadows Will Always Be There is my proposed exhibition at the 2026 Frieze London. lt was inspired by a growing desire to reconnect with my culture, and to question what that really means as an immigrant. For this exhibition, I have adopted the igbo masquerade, the oldest and most sovereign figure in lgbo tradition, as the central figure. By inserting it into the everyday architecture of contemporary Western life, I am able to highlight the presence of African identity in these spaces.  This idea came to me when I visited the Nigerian Modernism exhibition at Tate Modern in 2025, standing in front of The Dancer, an oil on canvas painting by Ben Enwonwu. I was inspired by the way he was able to express culture and identity through his art. He would use the masquerade as a way to speak about being Nigerian. I began studying his work closely and wanted to also explore the masquerade symbolism in my works.  So in this new body of work, the masquerade is inserted into ordinary rooms of contemporary Western life: a dinner table, a crowded street, in the train. Doing this tells me something about myself as an immigrant. Everywhere I go, I carry the energy of my culture and my ancestors, whether or not it is visible to anyone eise in the room. Painting the masquerade in these spaces is how I acknowledge that energy in myself, and how I honour it."

October 14th-18th 2026