The interplay between tactile quality and image in Johnson Uwadinma’s work though appear simple is visually intricate in detail and thematically engaging, drawing up symbolic references to morality, memory, history and the never-ending intrigue of human co-existence. His work reveals his interest in the human body as a reservoir of encoded history defined by past and present experiences as well as its significance to collective social development.
Uwadinma studied art at the University of Port Harcourt graduating with a BA and an MA in 2005and 2013 respectively. Uwadinma has exhibited extensively in several group exhibitions and has had four solo exhibitions: Re(de)fined, at Urevbu Contemporary, Memphis, USA, 2023; The Afterlife of Forgetting, at Boys’ Quarters Project Space, Port Harcourt, 2017; Erasure, at Boys’ Quarters Project Space, Port Harcourt, 2014; and Aphorism, at Mydrim Gallery, Lagos in 2013. Recent group exhibitions include Celebrons l’Afrique (Celebrating Africa), Les Arts du Soleil, Dakar, 2023; Engaging Space and Its Metaphors, PACA DAK’ART OFF, 2022; The Hamptons Fine Art Fair, New York, 2021; Africa on My Mind, Urevbu Contemporary, Memphis, 2021; Lets Connect, Mariam Cramer Projects, Amsterdam, 2021; Be Real Black for Me, Madlozi Gallery, South Africa, 2020; Of Things not Seen, Museum of Contemporary Art, Lagos, 2019; a specially curated installation for Art X Lagos, 2017; The Pineapple Show at Tiwani Contemporary, London, 2016; and Imago Mundi: Map of the New Art, Venice, 2015.
He lives and works in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
WORKS
Title: Fortunes wheel II
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 122cm x 122cm
Year: 2019
Title: Nkiru
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 76.2cm x 64cm
Year: 2022
Title: Cosmopolitan…
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 61cm x 51cm
Year: 2022
Title: Broken faces II
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 122cm x 152cm
Year: 2019