Jag Heter Tokunbo – Joseph Ijoyemi

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Emerging Artist Joseph Ijoyemi showcases his collection of paintings in upcoming solo exhibition Jag Heter Tokunbo at the 508 Gallery.
Joseph was Born and raised in Sweden until the age of 12, through his young childhood Joseph experienced various types of abuse which caused him to feel alienated and ashamed.
Being the only African family in the small town of… joseph began to question his identity and race, even when visiting his family’s country of Nigeria, Joseph still felt in denial to his culture.
This exhibition explores this journey from racial abuse to acceptance, taking the viewer
on a journey through each phase of his emotional barriers and the embrace of his culture.
 
The exhibition showcases playful paintings which are both abstract and figurative often experimenting with expressionistic portraits which are then disfigured and modified.
Joseph never intends to purposely paint a ‘self-portrait’, instead tends to see the bigger picture of how a young person would preserve it, seeing a reflection of themselves in him.
 
His artwork is aimed towards younger people who have experienced abuse of any kind through their own experiences and his goal is to share a support network for this.
Symbols are used as a representation of themes which run through Joseph’s experiences.
The Crown symbolises courage whilst Red diamonds, the inner darkness faced in life.
The Lion shares leadership and that every person shares a purpose.
 
“The exhibition will stem from my life experience, what I have seen both bad and good, what I believe in and also what is really happening in our society now and addressing the issue through visuals. “