Strength Through Beauty-Jola Adenji’s “Mad Black Women”

Jola Adeniji a Nigerian artist created the “MAD BLACK WOMAN SERIES” at the Charlotte Street Art Centre – This is a free event running at the Glencross Gallery from February 2nd until March 13th 

Adeniji is a multidimensional artist who is not confined to any specific medium, their work in the Mad Black Woman Series incorporates and infuses oil and acrylic painting, pastels, pencils, photography, design, plaster textures, textiles, and even hair. 

Adeniji is an international artist who moved from Nigeria to Canada last year. This series is Inspired by his travels around Canada including Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. Adeniji studied theatre arts and majored in technical light and set design. All his creative projects have led him to The College of Craft and Design where he studied visual Arts. His first exhibition is The Mad Black Woman series, an exhibition highlighting women of colour. 

He has developed a unique style and creative process by using the different skills he has acquired through his multidisciplinary approach to art. He curated these women as an encouragement for women of colour and to tell the story and iconic symbolism of Black women’s power. 

The silhouette-style paintings are of mixed media. The use of dark shading is elegant and rich with vibrant reds and backgrounds that bring depth to the stories of their characters and lives, audiences are welcome to bring their own interpretations and as a mirror to empathize with their experiences. Adeniji uses art to demonstrate that although women of colour have hardships and disadvantages they “always come out shining”. 

Adeniji encapsulates the divine femininity of contemporary women who value their natal characteristics and know their own unique qualities, demonstrating how it ties them to their homelands while carving out a path for themselves.

The series tells the story of several Black women and how they find their confidence and beauty in a white washed world using traditional influences from Black culture paired with the influence of  strong women in his life.

His work depicts hope and the raw beauty and truth of Black consciousness and women who share their stories and experiences to create generations of empowering other Black women. 

A link to the exhibition can be found here.