By Adefoyeke Ajao

Since graduating with a degree in Creative Arts from the University of Lagos, Tonia Nneji has worked as a full-time studio artist and has earned an enviable reputation as a painter. Most recently, in 2017, she won the Emerging Artist Award of the Society of Nigerian Artists’ Lagos chapter. Nneji has a lot of stories to tell, and her art relates them eloquently – whether she’s painting human faces or female bodies.

Tonia Nneji

Despite being a descendant of masqueraders and traditional carvers, Nneji has distinguished herself as a painter whose favourite media are oil and acrylic on canvas. Mentored and inspired by the illustrious artist, Wallace Ejoh, Nneji’s paintings embody intimate experiences and emotions as well as her thoughts on social issues.

Alasho

The artist has a penchant for attaching unexpected interpretations to her paintings, but it is quite impossible to misconstrue these messages once the paintings are framed within the context of her motivations. This predilection is most obvious in “Tales of the present,” her series of paintings depicting scantily-clad women in various poses. A cursory look could give the suggestion of something risqué; but in actuality, the heroines of this collection are living out their pain with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) – a condition characterised by irregular hormone levels – rather than transmitting sensual vibes. Nneji flips the script on the familiar stereotype of the female body as an object of voyeuristic pleasure and instead presents it as a vessel of pain.

Tales of the Present 1

Tales of the Present 2

Tonia Nneji is confident about expressing her thoughts and experiences on canvas. Her work calls for a deeper engagement with the art as well as with the artist. Whether she is painting full-figured women or pensive faces, she does so with intense and colourful strokes that make them stand out vividly on canvas.

To see more of Tonia Nneji’s work, visit her Art635 page or her Instagram profile @tonia_nneji