Featured Artist Tonia Nneji(Nigeria)

Born in Imo State, Nigeria, contemporary Nigerian  artist  Tonia  Nneji  comes  from  a  long  line of traditional  carvers  and masquerade  carriers. Following the family tradition of artistry, she graduated with a B.A  (Hons) in  Visual  Arts from the University of Lagos, Nigeria in 2016. 

Known for her use of bold colours and intricate patterns, Nneji’s work explores the relationship between trauma and the female  body. Drawing from her experience  in dealing with personal health issues, she confronts a culture  of suppression and  silence  on issues around women’s physical and  mental  health,  body  autonomy  and  sexual harassment  in  a  bid  to  create  safe  spaces  where conversations could be held freely. 

Her recent paintings show women’s  bodies in various stages of movement  draped with colourful, intricately  detailed  swathes of print fabric.  This preoccupation  with body forms and textile  material navigates  cultural  and  social  meanings  of fabric  in contemporary  African societies  while exploring the protective  qualities  of clothing. She notes, “I use drapery as a tool of hiding, to represent protection, a safe place”. 

Nneji’s works  have been featured in prominent publications  such  as Nation  Newspaper,  Vanguard, and the Guardian  and in 2017, she was celebrated on BBC  Africa during the ‘International  Women’s Day’. Her work  was  also  profiled  by  prolific Nigerian  author  Chimamanda Adichie  in  her  essay

‘The  New Guard’  published  by Harper’s Bazaar  in 2020. In 2018,  Nneji  was  awarded the Ronke Ekwensi Fellowship in  New Jersey and her work  was presented  at  the  FNB  Art Joburg in South  Africa and Miami  Art Basel in Florida, USA  in 2019. During the same year, Nneji participated  in Rele  Arts Foundation’s  Young Contemporaries program. In 2020, she also exhibited  in the  firstever  Young Contemporaries  Alumni  Exhibition  at the  National Museum, Lagos. Nneji was recently  a part of the artists selected for the  Art Dubai Residency program curated by Johannesburg-based Kabelo Malatsie  and her works  are widely collected both locally  and internationally.  She lives and works in Lagos.