Yinkore delves deep into her creative process and personal journey in a candid conversation with Team OKE. From her early days as a drawing-obsessed child to her emergence as a prominent digital artist, Yinkore shares the inspirations and challenges that have shaped her work. With raw vulnerability, she discusses the profound impact of personal struggles on her artistic evolution and how her art serves as a powerful platform for exploring the multifaceted experiences of Black womanhood.
Yinkore’s Art isn't About a Signature Look, But a Powerful Message. Discover The Raw Authenticity of Her Work.
Yinkore (b. 1998) is a self-taught Nigerian digital artist living and working in Canada. She navigates her unique lived experiences by exploring themes of intersectionality and representation in the art she creates. Using her pieces as a form of activism and voice to resist the silence people with identities like hers were taught to embrace, in an attempt to secure the portrayal of every identity possible as advancements in art continue.
How did you become an artist?
That’s always such an interesting question because I don’t remember existing as anything other than an artist. My mum was fed up with me because I took my sketchpads everywhere, I was the drawing-on-the-wall kind of child and was stubborn. So I’ve always been an artist.
The question should probably be when I became a digital artist? That was 2017, I was freshly heartbroken, and then I found out I was very sick, we broke up the day before, and he sent me a message about how he doesn’t deserve me. I knew he didn’t deserve me but I was not an idiot.
He had sent the message and I had gotten a result from the doctor the day after. The illness had happened the year before and we thought nothing serious of it but the doctor came back after the test result saying it was a serious health issue and we needed to run more tests. It was a lot of bad things happening at once and I was in extreme physical pain for three months. Usually, whenever I’m in pain, I go towards art to distract myself but at the time I was in physical pain and I couldn’t do traditional art, stand for those long hours, and move things around. So I downloaded Adobe Illustrator Draw, on my iPod Touch (regardless of how tiny those screens were) and started playing around with it with my fingers because there were no pens for iPod Touch.
Here we are seven years later after I got started.
So we should say the moment that changed your Art journey was when you fell sick.
Yeah
How do you decide your themes?
Like I said earlier when I started art, it was to play around. My digital art career coincided with learning more about feminism and queer education. I was known mildly on X (Twitter) for fighting people about women’s rights and more. This got to a point where I realized that these were things I could say and explore in my art as well. It became an outlet to not just talk about political issues then shifted from play to being extremely political to being a black woman doesn’t always have to exist in this facet of politics because I guess people started expecting a piece I made to be about some big, deep... and yes it is because I’m sad, frustrated and have mental health issues. So obviously every theme comes up in my work but I didn’t want to become a thing where people felt like it was okay to make me their token political black woman. It became more about the lived experiences of black women. Talking about all the various facets and how to explore cultures, mental health, and friendship. Most of the pieces are about me talking about myself but even on a bigger scale about how many different versions of black women exist and our problems also.
What inspired Redefining Boundaries?
This piece was inspired by my relationship with my dad. Looking closer at the piece, the flowers are collages of one specific picture of us from when I was young. That was definitely when our relationship was probably its best because we’ve had a tumultuous relationship. Being Nigerian, there’s this level of respect you’re always supposed to accord your parents no matter the role they are playing in your life even if that role is the villain. So I’ve had to navigate what that has felt like because I used to be my daddy’s little girl, and then he became a terrible dad. Not in the sense of abuse, but in the sense of absence and I value closeness so I don’t like an absent parent.
This piece was about me coming to terms with our present relationship because I don’t want to pretend everything is okay anymore. I have to think of the boundaries of our new relationship because it can’t be how it used to be as I’m no longer in their space. That's Redefining Boundaries.
Is there any story you’re trying to convey through your art?
Honestly, nothing specific, it’s mostly about my love and appreciation for black women, and me living as a black woman and how to navigate that. I don’t have an artistic style, I have an artistic voice and what my voice is saying is to listen to black women, love black women, and appreciate what it is that we have to go through because the intersectionality of being both black and a woman – I don’t think people realize how deep it goes. I have added issues because I am queer and also have mental health issues. I’m dealing with it as a black dark-skinned, neuro-divergent woman.
One of my friends said to me, circa 2019 “If someone asks me about your work I’d say it’s a love letter to black women.” I feel like that’s exactly what it is. I like that black women feel loved by what I do.
How do you feel about exhibiting your work? What does this exhibition mean to
you?
Exhibiting in general is always a bit nerve-racking because my artworks are personal. I have to be vulnerable with multiple people at once - which I'm getting better at. Going into an exhibition is usually tough for me. People typically ask several questions because they connect to the work and because my pieces are personal, they seem invasive. I'm going into this knowing that some people might get it or not and may be critical and I don't know how to take criticism about art. Regardless, I love it when people tell me they love my work, so I'm excited. I'm excited to see the other artworks and relate with the other artists. It's comforting knowing that the subject matter is about black women.
Are there any particular pieces in this exhibition that hold special significance to you and why?
They kind of all do. They all hold a special space but Redefining boundaries is what holds the most special place to me right now.
What should our guests be most excited to see in your exhibition?
My beautiful face (laughs). My favourite part of exhibitions is getting to experience it. I haven’t done a physical exhibition in a while and some people appreciate my work but have never physically experienced it in person, I'm looking forward to that. So getting to see a digital artist’s work on canvas is something to look forward to and the questions and vibe of the space. Consuming art, especially mine in a safe space will be a different experience.
What advice would you give aspiring artists?
Don't do it! That's a lie, I wouldn't tell anybody not to do art. Honestly, even if I told you to stop, if you're an artist, I don't think you'll be able to stop. It can be frustrating but you can't let go of it. I've told myself to quit art and I'm still here.
My advice would be to remain consistent in whatever way you can. Art is one thing that when you're high, you're high and when you're low, you're low low. In whatever way you can show up, show up. It might be a sketch or a photograph every month but show up for yourself in the littlest ways and art will show up for you.
Lastly, How do you relate to the word "sis"?
There’s something about the word that feels safe, there’s a spirit of camaraderie, of understanding.
Ọ̀KẸ́ is on a mission to unveil cultural riches, showcasing our similarities and experiences in each exhibition. Find out more about Hey Sis...
Hey Sis... is supported by STACKT and RADRCanada.
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