Lisa Ijeoma
*1997, Brussels, Belgium
Lisa Ijeoma’s intricate hand-sewn patchworks are part of an ongoing research on her intersectional identity. In an attempt to challenge historical stereotypes, objectification, and exploitation of the black female body, her patchworks portray both universal and personal experiences.
Born in Bruges, Belgium (°1997), with Nigerian roots, her figurative compositions take the viewer through imaginary landscapes often veiled in a looming blue hue. Her collages may depict as particularly calm or peaceful, their backstory is usually not. Beginning her career with a master’s in fine arts painting, she felt the need for a broader spectrum of media to voice her experiences and finished her second masters in Textile design not long after.
Her earliest textile works were conceived during the isolating lockdowns in 2019 and the aftermath of the murder on George Floyd, capturing nightscapes relating to police violence. Often referencing scenes and experiences of fear and trauma, she uses the repetitive motion of hand sowing in a healing manner.
After receiving her degree, she also started researching handwoven Jacquard as a way to illustrate gendered labor in a social-political context, where the repetitive movement becomes a pretext for a deeper understanding of the construction of trauma, identity, questions around gender stereotypes and racial prejudice.