Fidelis Ayuwa Izekor

Storytelling is one of the most important forms of connecting and understanding the world around us. In telling stories of Black and Brown bodies, themes of identity, nationality, trauma, beauty, and society emerge. I paint compositions that symbolize life experiences but exist in fantasy. For instance, In my piece titled Venus of Hispaniola, there lies a young man on bed with a floral embellished cloth draped over his body exposing some parts of him. Hovering over him is another young man who hands him a flower and a mask as he too holds another mask up to his face. They both exist in a living space with green walls and checked tiles; outside the window of this space lies Hispaniola the birthplace of the two men. Although they are from opposite ends of the island that exist as two separate worlds, they find themselves together in the space of love. In creating this piece, I wanted to tell a story; one of romance and the historical relationship between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. While creating these compositions; it is important for me to not only understand the technical efforts that made them so dynamic but to understand the nuance of these pieces that have systematic impacts in the way we dissect the world around us.