Adeniyi-Jones talks to Studio International about his new paintings in That Which Binds Us, his first solo show at White Cube Bermondsey.
The Brooklyn-based artist Tunji Adeniyi-Jones (b1992, London) paints sumptuous figurative canvases underpinned by ideas around belonging, connecting across cultures and the transformative power of travel. Hybridity defines his experience. Born in Britain of Nigerian heritage, Adeniyi-Jones trained at the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford. A trip to Nigeria in 2012, while still an undergraduate, proved pivotal; there he met local pioneers such as Ben Enwonwu and Bruce Onobrakpeya, which enabled him to incorporate his questions around hybrid identities into his painting. Thereafter he moved to the United States, where he earned an MFA from Yale School of Art, Connecticut, and he completed six months at Kehinde Wiley ’s Black Rock residency programme in Dakar, Senegal. His first solo show at White Cube Bermondsey, titled That Which Binds Us, reflects on the intangible qualities that build community across different environments.
Tunji Adeniyi-Jones: That Which Binds Us
White Cube Bermondsey, London
19 November 2021 – 9 January 2022
Interview by ELIZABETH FULLERTON
Filmed and edited by MARTIN KENNEDY
