Chukwu Adaeze Stephanie is an emerging visual artist from Lagos, Nigeria. She dwells in the artistic portrayal of beautifully painted black women in their most vulnerable state. Currently in residence for Voice x Women Rise NFT, she enables her cosmos inspired oil paintings to be viewed beyond physical restrictions. In hopes of gaining an insight into her universe, we sat down with the starlet and discussed her upbringing, influences and creative journey thus far.
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Where are you from? I’m from Enugu state.
What sparked your creative side for the first time? My father was a carpenter, so I started copying the sketches he made of tables, chairs, bed frames.
How many mediums or creative fields have you experimented with? Painting, acting, make-up, sculpting, I like to experience art in all forms.
What is your preferred medium? Oil painting.
Where do you draw inspiration from? Life, family, friends, strangers and the cosmos!
Can you tell us a bit about your creative process? My works are a reflection of my personal life experiences, so I meditate weeks before I start a new piece. I go through my gallery to find photos I can draw inspiration from because I take lots of pictures of family, friends, strangers and the sky. When the time comes I stretch my canvas, prime it, leave it to dry for a day or two, sandpaper it because I like my surfaces kind of smooth, then I make a sketch using a brush and a dark shade of brown, after that I start painting.
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Do you have any specific artistic influences? Can you tell us how they have influenced your work? Jordan Castel, Kehinde Wiley, they make me want to go out to the streets taking photos of strangers to paint, they’ve changed lives with their art and that’s something I have started, I have a few paintings of strangers and I’d love to do more. Clio Newton inspires me to do larger works, I don’t have many large works right now but I’ll definitely do more.
What is your take on diversity within the art scene in Lagos? The Lagos art scene is one of the most beautiful and inspirational art scenes in the world, so many artists in Lagos have gone global by being true to themselves and their art. It’s truly inspiring.
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What messages do you convey with your pieces, are they emotional, political...? My pieces are definitely emotional because they’re a reflection of my personal life experiences.
Do you have a dream collaboration? Oh yes I do, I’d love to work with Kehinde Wiley and Jordan Castel, maybe we’ll have this exhibition where we’ll show off paintings of strangers from around the world.
Do you have a favourite piece? If yes, which one and why? Yes I do, my painting, “ Melancholy “. I was going through a very rough phase when I created that piece and it’s very personal to me, I look at it and it instantly gives me hope, it reminds me that life can always get better.
