Through my window, there is a view-a dying tree, an oil plant, and a vast canvas of a dark beyond.
-S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema, “Through my window, the demons within.” 2022

Within every story of immigration there is a necessary kernel of hope–hope that the new place will be good, that the life there will be as well, that the future that begins there will have been worth it.

Each story, of course, diverges in the reality of each person. For Opeyemi Olukotun, as with many newcomers to the City of Brandon, the shocking, violent cold of the his first winter away from Nigeria felt like a manifestation of disappointed hope, and at the same time an active, malevolent force that kept him inside and isolated. In a series of 15 large portraits, Olukotun explores the many facets of his experience, including regret, uncertainty, lonliness, and profound grief. In his sitters, who are themselves immigrants, both the universality and specificity of Olukotun’s experience hold space between the artist’s looking and the model’s remembering.

In Through my window, there is a view, Olukotun’s first solo exhibition in Canada, arm’s length empathy seems like the only appropriate response. The view out the window does not need to be beautiful–it just has to be looked at.

About the artist: Opeyemi Olukotun’s interest in anatomy is evident in his work, using colour and brushstrokes to portray movement, emotion, and form. His signature portrait style uses visible sketchy strokes and saturated underpainting to create a steady sense of flow, connectivity, and harmony around his subjects.
Olukotun was born in Ipetu Ijesha, Osun State, Nigeria, in 1989. He graduated from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology with a Bachelor of Technology in Fine and Applied Arts in 2012. After graduation, he took up employment as a creative art teacher in a senior secondary school. In 2016, after teaching for two years, he resigned his appointment to pursue a full-time career in the visual arts. He moved with his family to Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, in 2022. He is commercially represented by Out Of Africa Gallery in Barcelona, Spain.

EXHIBITION BOOKLET

The interview in this exhibition’s printed booklet was edited for clarity and length. You can read the long interview here.