Joseph Ijoyemi is an Afro-Swedish contemporary artist Living and working in London.
He draws his inspiration from life experiences and conversations, so his work often contains a narrative. His work can be both figurative and abstract and combines a novel use of imagery and materials.
Joseph began his professional career as an artist in 2015 and one of his pieces was displayed at Angel tube station in the Art of Angel exhibition. Since then he has taken part in various group exhibitions and this helped him to find his feet as an artist. He held his first solo exhibition at 508 Gallery in King’s Rd Chelsea in 2018.
Currently Joseph is studying for a Graduate Diploma in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts UAL and has expanded his practice to include sculpture, installation and multimedia. He has recently been working on projects with organisations such as, Lewisham Council in conjunction with Brown Jewel, Greenwich Council, My Runway Group pop-up store in Carnaby Street and RAW LABS.
In December 2020 he was part of a group exhibition online with Late at Tate Britain where he collaborated with Aleksander Nærbø making a short film called, Scandimorph.
Joseph is also a co-founder of The Collective Makers, an organisation helping young creatives in his community to connect, empower and providing mentorship.
Education
University of the Arts (Chelsea) (UK) Graduate Diploma – Fine Arts 2020-2021
University of Hertfordshire (UK) BA (Hons) Second Class Degree Digital and Lens Media 2006-2009
North West Kent College (UK) Art and Design Foundation Diploma 2005-2006
Woolwich Polytechnic School, Thamesmead (UK)
GCSE: 8 A-C Grades includes Maths (C) and English (C)
A Level: Art and Design (A) Computing (B) 1998-2005 (Including sixth form) __________________________________________________________________________________________
Commissions
MY RUNWAY GROUP, Carnaby Street, LONDON – October 2020
Created a mural for the client pop up store in Carnaby Street. The Mural placed emphasis on the location of the store.
ROYAL BOROUGH OF GREENWICH & CRAFTA, LONDON – September 2020
Created a commissioned piece for cancer screening awareness. The artwork illustrated a black cancer patient after recovery and was a form of celebration in aid of Black History Month.
ETERNAL LOVE, LONDON – August 2020
Collaborated with Eternal Love and produced an artwork for their clothing line.
KICK N MUNCH, Deptford, LONDON – July 2019
Created a commissioned mural for a restaurant based in Deptford London. The mural depicted black icons in an abstract figurate style.
LONDON HACKNEY NEW SHOOL, LONDON – February 2019
Did a creative workshop with the year 10 & 11 GCSE Art students to inspire and talk about contemporary art within London and also discussions about the increase of gang and knife crime. It was an opportunity to give back to the community and to help young people see the bigger picture by seeing art as therapeutic and positive practice.
Hudinge – Varby ‘Express Yourself’, Stockholm, Sweden – August 2018
‘Express Yourself’ is a summer arts culture festival set over 4 days that seeks to engage youth ages 13-19 through the art mediums of dance, music and art. Was involved setting up art workshop for young people in order for them to express themselves as well as being commissioned to create a unique art piece with young people that represents peace within the community.
Solo Exhibition
Jag Heter Tokunbo, 508 Gallery, Kings Road Chelsea London – 2018
Group Shows
I’m Ready to Dance again, London Safe House 2021
Artlink – VOICES: JURIED EXHIBITION, Online 2021
Late at Tate Britain, Online 2020
Disrupting The Art World, Noho Studios London 2020
Brown Jewel Exhibition, Goldsmiths University London 2019
Creative Impacts Exhibition, Kings College London 2019
The Soul-Deep Art Project, GX Gallery London 2018
Off The Wall: Exploring Cultural Identity, The Square Gallery London 2017
Gitoon x UCH Spring Exhibition, The Street Gallery, University College Hospital London 2015
Art of Angel, Candid Arts Trust, The Angel London 2015
Artist Statement
I use both figurative and abstract styles with a focus on the use colour to articulate my concerns.
My main medium is painting, but have now expanded my practice to include sculpture, installation and multimedia works. My work represents a critical view of contemporary social and cultural issues. I have a deep interest in improving mental health, promoting African culture and the discourses surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement.
My intention is to create thought provoking dialogues and for beholders to raise questions around identity as well as social and cultural issues.
The inspiration for my work comes from my own life experiences and my community and the outputs often have a strong narrative element.
Most projects normally result in multiple works being produced and these are grouped around specific themes in order to create a coherent series.