In Conversation: Artist's & Their Narratives – Part 1

In the debut edition of this three-part series exploring the storytelling narratives behind young artists' works, we had the pleasure of speaking with four emerging female artists. For our first interview, we connected with Bunmi Agusto. Our conversation delved into the personal and cultural stories interwoven in her art, providing a captivating glimpse into the creative processes that inspire her work.

Question: How do elements of cultural theory, mythology, or fantasy shape and influence your creative process? Can you share specific examples of how these themes have informed your work or artistic direction?

Answer: My entire artistic practice is centred on my paracosm. It's a pocket reality in my mind with its own characters and lore, a fantastical retelling of my life. In many ways, it is a coming-of-age tale as I turn my encounters with self-discovery spirituality, grief and migration into allegories infused with magic.

Some of the characters featured represent fragments of my personality; others are people I encounter in my waking life. Therefore I extend my single self into a whole world to create this microcosm. I learn a lot about how to tell these stories from mythologies and ancient histories too.

 Image Credits: 'Inhabiting Spirit-Bodies (Umbanda)', 2024.. Copyright Bunmi Agusto. 

Question: In what ways has your personal background or life experiences influenced the themes and concepts behind your artwork? Could you share how specific aspects of your upbringing or culture have shaped your creative vision?

Answer: The general concept of world-building in my work came from my history of playing games. I love being immersed in peoples’ worlds, born out of question. Combined with my appreciation for cosmologies and ancient cultures resulted a deep love of storytelling and a desire to build my own world through my work. Storytelling built the bones of my practice, but my lived experiences and cultural background are the heart of my work.

Question: What artistic techniques or visual elements do you use to enrich and communicate the narratives behind your work?

Answer: Each of my artworks exist as a story panel; intricate and ever-expanding. There are recurring characters. There are journal-style works to explain the fantastical logic of the world. There are works that maximise my use of mixed-media by juxtaposing the drawn and the printed figure to illustrate the different presences of humans and spirits. I also often curate my exhibitions in a manner that the story can be followed if one pays close enough attention.

Image Credits: Bunmi Agusto, 'Apparitions Fly Past Umbanda', 2023. Copyright Bunmi Agusto. Courtesy of the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery. Photo by Todd White Art Photography.

Question: Are there any upcoming projects or works in progress that you're excited about and would like to share?

Answer: In October I'll be showing some works at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London with TAFETA. Followed by some works at Untitled Art Fair, Miami with kó in December. Next year, I have some solo exhibitions scheduled in London, Marrakech and Freiburg. 

You can keep up to date with Bunmi's career on instagram.