Ekene Emeka-Maduka is an artist and storyteller based in Treaty 1, Territory 1 (Canada).
She enjoys playing chameleon in stories oen set in vaguely relatable backdrops that carefully defy reality. She achieves relatability in her work through semiotics from mundane moments with commonplace significance in her home country, Nigeria, juxtaposed against moments, events and motifs potentially recognizable and relatable globally.
Emeka-Maduka builds dramatic worlds that constantly question the version of reality we actively indulge. She continues to study the relationship between self-identification and communal identity.
The subjects of her work and their built universe are alive. Her subjects shed their skins through time, gradually becoming animated and birthing nuanced expressions, colours and feelings relevant to our ever-changing reality.
When Emeka-Maduka is not painting or performing, she enjoys hibernating in the winter. All year round, she enjoys the company of what she considers a good book, wine, movie, dish or friend.
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Mujeres artistas IN-CRE-Í-BLES que vimos en Zona Maco 2022
Majo Martínez, Chilango, February 11, 2022 -
Check out portraits of the Obamas plus other Black Americans at LACMA, Jeffrey Deitch gallery
Steve Chiotakis, KCRW, November 10, 2021 -
SELF-ADDRESSED A GROUP SHOW OF CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ARTISTS CURATED BY KEHINDE WILEY
Mark Westall, FAD Magazine, November 2, 2021 -
Ekene Emeka Maduka Freezes Truth And History In Her Paintings
The Art Gorgeous, July 4, 2021 -
The young Black painter exploring the nuances of normality
IIayda McIntosh, The Voice, October 31, 2020 -
African Women Take the Stage at 1-54 African Art Fair London
Art She Says, October 10, 2020 -
Buoyed By Interest in Young African Artists, London’s Only IRL Art Fair 1-54 Shows the Value of In-Person Events
Naomi Rea, Artnet News, October 9, 2020 -
'If you're coming to buy, you have two hours to do it': what it's like at London's real-life 1-54 Contemporary African A
Anny Shaw, The Art Newspaper, October 9, 2020 -
African Connections: Artists to Watch at 1-54 and Frieze Masters
Rebecca Anne Proctor, OCULA, October 8, 2020
