Who We Are, Who We Were Painting

Stephanie Unaeze is a self taught Visual Artist currently living and working in Lagos Nigeria. Her practice aims to understand and document the effects that society, culture and tradition have on the proverbial self. Tackling issues such as globalization, post-colonial consumerism and identity. She credits her multi-cultural upbringing as one of her main influences. Through her form which she describes as ‘Modern Afro- Pop- Surrealism’, she is able to juxtapose fact against fantasy traversing through the conscious and subconscious with ease. Her work acts as a conduit for history, bringing it into the new age whilst maintaining its authenticity. Stephanie uses her art to express and document the nuances, complexities and layers that surround the modern African lifestyle. With the use of patterns, geometric design and vibrant colors she evokes the strong flavors of the continent and the spirit of its people. Her use of minimal often faceless figures projects the idea that the self is always present through cultural shifts, new forms of expression and societal changes. Her work is resonant and reminds us that we as individuals are a sum of many moving parts, that surpass basic socio-normative identities. She acknowledges the constant state of becoming that exists in the world as a macrocosm of the self.