Sinead Keri

Exeter

Art is a form of expression for me. A channel by which I depict my ideas without having to worry about the opinions of others. I do it as a way to dig deeper into my own mental space and pull out untouched ideas. My body of work aims to reflect my true persona, as well as those of the people in my environment who have contributed to my upbringing and personal development.

My major source of inspiration is personal subject matters which may involve cultural identity, ancestry, and even more intimate ideas such as self-love. My works are hinged on those topics, which I chose to investigate due to a few personal ordeals. In my experiences of being unequivocally and directly discriminated against, I realised the hard way that I was different from others in my environment, but as a woman of colour confronting these issues, I’ve

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IB ART EXHIBITION | 2020 - 2021

had time to learn and grow to treasure who I truly am, as there are parts of me which are permanent and unchangeable. I therefore use these insecurities as major elements of my art, in a bid to make others love their true selves as well. I intend to use my works to reveal what I believe to be the epitome of female African beauty, and explore a range of physical features including some which might customarily be perceived as unattractive so as to defy the stereotypical norms of female beauty and subvert societal standards to make my viewers more open-minded and regard my works in a different light from what they might be accustomed to.

I explored traditional methods of creating, especially from my culture; like textiles for example, and used them to convey a message in a way that resonates with my generation and others who are like me. In one of my works, I painted over traditional Nigerian fabrics in order to explicitly reflect my nationality to my audience and to depict the pride I take in being an African woman. I plan to use these fabrics to create a live setting of a typical village yard to give the viewers a feel of my personal environment back home. I also painted an oil portrait of my mother with a textured background in a way that portrays her as divine and more superior being with the intention to emphasize her importance to me and give a visual representation of her role in my life. My exhibition’s message of beauty, identity and self love will be progressively tied together through each work that symbolises the African rites of passage which are birth, adulthood, marriage, eldership and ancestorship. It will show the impermanence of life and the progressiveness of beauty, admiration and respect.

Through my art, I aim to inspire other women and people of colour to appreciate themselves and their respective backgrounds.

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