IJE MA Fine Art

IJE is willing to accept commissions
Ije (eejay) based in Warwickshire, UK.
A Scottish / Nigerian artist-healer. My practice explores landscape, drawing on a lifetime of moving across the UK and beyond, from mining and farming communities to industrial towns and cities, to wild spaces of mountains and coastlines. My painting, photography, installation, and writing immerse people in perceptions of nature, connecting audiences with the earth and its expansive natural spaces. Bold, energetic, and textured paintings reflect the feelings, political resonance, and sensuousness of my encounters, while the photographic work acts as a kind of immediate note taking, providing a glimpse into the times and spaces that I occupy in the world.
I am a mixed practice artist: I am a writer, a poet, an explorer, a painter, a photographer, a creator, a healer; I am a sculptor, an adventurer, a walker and a runner, a performer, a thinker, a catalyst. I look upwards, I look down upon, I look through and on the face of things;
MORE
A Scottish / Nigerian artist-healer. My practice explores landscape, drawing on a lifetime of moving across the UK and beyond, from mining and farming communities to industrial towns and cities, to wild spaces of mountains and coastlines. My painting, photography, installation, and writing immerse people in perceptions of nature, connecting audiences with the earth and its expansive natural spaces. Bold, energetic, and textured paintings reflect the feelings, political resonance, and sensuousness of my encounters, while the photographic work acts as a kind of immediate note taking, providing a glimpse into the times and spaces that I occupy in the world.
I am a mixed practice artist: I am a writer, a poet, an explorer, a painter, a photographer, a creator, a healer; I am a sculptor, an adventurer, a walker and a runner, a performer, a thinker, a catalyst. I look upwards, I look down upon, I look through and on the face of things;
MORE
IJE is willing to accept commissions
Ije (eejay) based in Warwickshire, UK.
A Scottish / Nigerian artist-healer. My practice explores landscape, drawing on a lifetime of moving across the UK and beyond, from mining and farming communities to industrial towns and cities, to wild spaces of mountains and coastlines. My painting, photography, installation, and writing immerse people in perceptions of nature, connecting audiences with the earth and its expansive natural spaces. Bold, energetic, and textured paintings reflect the feelings, political resonance, and sensuousness of my encounters, while the photographic work acts as a kind of immediate note taking, providing a glimpse into the times and spaces that I occupy in the world.
I am a mixed practice artist: I am a writer, a poet, an explorer, a painter, a photographer, a creator, a healer; I am a sculptor, an adventurer, a walker and a runner, a performer, a thinker, a catalyst. I look upwards, I look down upon, I look through and on the face of things; I encounter, touch, feel, remember, imagine, and fabricate.
I take commissions and run individual/small group creative painting workshops.
A Scottish / Nigerian artist-healer. My practice explores landscape, drawing on a lifetime of moving across the UK and beyond, from mining and farming communities to industrial towns and cities, to wild spaces of mountains and coastlines. My painting, photography, installation, and writing immerse people in perceptions of nature, connecting audiences with the earth and its expansive natural spaces. Bold, energetic, and textured paintings reflect the feelings, political resonance, and sensuousness of my encounters, while the photographic work acts as a kind of immediate note taking, providing a glimpse into the times and spaces that I occupy in the world.
I am a mixed practice artist: I am a writer, a poet, an explorer, a painter, a photographer, a creator, a healer; I am a sculptor, an adventurer, a walker and a runner, a performer, a thinker, a catalyst. I look upwards, I look down upon, I look through and on the face of things; I encounter, touch, feel, remember, imagine, and fabricate.
I take commissions and run individual/small group creative painting workshops.
CAREER SUMMARY
Ije (eejay): A Scottish/Nigerian artist-healer. My practice draws on a lifetime of moving across the UK and beyond exploring landscapes, from mining and farming communities to industrial towns and cities, to wild spaces of mountains and coastlines. My painting, photography, installation and writing are products of immersive experiences, connecting audiences with the transformative properties of expansive natural spaces. Textured paintings with inclusions of manufactured materials are often described as bold and energetic, reflecting the feelings, political resonance, and sensuousness of my encounters. My photographs/videos initially act as immediate note taking, capturing glimpses of the times and spaces that I occupy in the world.
I am a mixed practice artist: I am a writer, a poet, an explorer, a painter, a photographer, a creator, a healer; I am a sculptor, an adventurer, a walker and a runner, a performer, a thinker, a catalyst. I look upwards, I look down upon, I look through and on the face of things; I encounter, touch, feel, remember, imagine, and fabricate.
In 2012 I took a step back from a busy career as a senior manager in the local government/health sector due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I had previously been very active doing martial arts, rock climbing, mountaineering and hill-walking but this had dwindled, and physical activity had become something I could only do sporadically. Time was now a resource I had in abundance and I began to do endurance activities of long steady walking or slow running building up to being outdoors for many hours/miles. This activity now underpins my practice, freeing my mind to generate creative ideas, meander through concepts and activate the gestures and physicality that later becomes integral to my making.
Since then I have focused on developing as an artist, alongside establishing a holistic therapy business, completing a Fine Art Diploma in 2014 followed by an MA Fine Art (Birmingham City University) in 2016. I also have a post graduate Management Studies Diploma (1998)
All work starts with a refrain - sound / colour / movement initiated during my activities which gathers intensity, galvanising the physical, expressive process. I work quickly and intensively with large gestures; materials like water, mutable, full of potential; concealing, revealing, creating spaces in between, worlds within worlds to be explored, to get lost and found, these spaces I go when I’m journeying.
I have a studio at home and at Grid Studios, Harborough Magna, as well as being a member of Rugby Artists’ Group. I am a Trustee of Coventry Artspace and have previously been a committee member of: Rugby Artists’ Group, Warwickshire Open Studios and Association of Midland Artists 2011-2014.
I promote, exhibit and sell my work; actively support artist development and engagement; work in collaboration with other artists/organisations, take commissions and run creative painting workshops for adults.
EXHIBITIONS
UK ARTISTS EXHIBITION: COOL BLUES On-line exhibition at theExhibit; Jan – March 2021
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2020 Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; Jan 2021, online only, due to Covid-19 restrictions
COVENTRY MADE ME (short film) Film commissioned by Coventry University & University of Warwick; release date Oct/Nov 2020
UK ARTISTS EXHIBITION Arts Trail Gallery, Leamington Spa; 1 Sep – 4 Oct 2020
I RELEASE MY COLOURS Solo Exhibition (whole gallery); Surface Gallery, Nottingham; 5 – 12 Sep 2020
I RELEASE MY COLOURS (preview) Artspace Windows, The Row, Ironmonger Row and Arcadia, City Arcade, Coventry; 20 Jun 2020 – 11 Jul 2020
UK ARTISTS EXHIBITION: SOLITUDE (Virtual Exhibition); May – June 2020
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2019 Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 23 Nov 2019 – 11 Jan 2020
ART IS WHY I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING 2nd Edtn: The Line Contemporary Art Space, Mercato Metropolitano, London; 1 – 3 Nov 2019
CHAMELEON: CONTEMPORARY COLOUR Surface Gallery, Nottingham; 4 – 19 Oct 2019; Chameleon: Art Prize winner
RUGBY ARTISTS’ GROUP AUTUMN EXHIBITION: Cotesbach Estate/St. Mary’s Church, Leicestershire; 13 – 22 Sep 2019
RUGBY ARTS TRAIL: Foyer, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 29 Jun – 14 Jul 2019
UK ARTISTS ANNUAL EXHIBITION: Floor One Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 8 – 20 Jun 2019
PALETTE: Focus Gallery, Nottingham; 17 May – 29 Jun 2019
POSITIVE EMOTIONS 2019: Kunsthuis Gallery, Crayke, N. Yorks; 6 Apr 2019 to 26 Jan 2020
EXTRAORDINARY EXHIBITION 2019: The Arches Project, Birmingham; 2 – 30 Apr 2019
RUGBY ARTISTS’ GROUP ANNUAL EXHIBITION: Floor One Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 30 Mar – 12 Apr 2019
LIGHT HOUSE OPEN EXHIBITION 2019: Light House Gallery & Media Centre, Fryer St, Wolverhampton; 6 Feb – 30 Mar 2019
TEMPERANCE – NATURAL WORLD EXHIBITION: Temperance, Bath St, Leamington Spa; 3 Feb – 12 Mar 2019
FERENS OPEN EXHIBITION 2019: Ferens Gallery, Hull; 1 Feb – 14 Apr 2019
WHEN WOMEN SPEAK – THE TOUR 2019 LIVE PFHOEM PERFORMANCE: The Wightman Theatre, Shrewsbury; 21 Jan 2019
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2018: Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 17 Nov 2018 – 12 Jan 2019
UK ARTISTS ANNUAL EXHIBITION: Direct Art Action Gallery, Sutton Coldfield; 1 – 30 Nov 2018; 1st Prize winner
our eARTh 2018: Kunsthuis Gallery, Crayke, N. Yorks; 24 Mar - 23 Dec 2018
RUGBY ARTISTS’ GROUP ANNUAL EXHIBITION: Floor One Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 24 Mar – 12 Apr 2018
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2017: Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 28 Nov 2017 – 13 Jan 2018
CHIPPING NORTON PEOPLE’S GALLERY INAUGURAL EXHIBITION: Chipping Norton People’s Gallery, Chipping Norton, Oxon; Dec 2017-Mar 2018
SUMMER EXHIBITION 2017: Kunsthuis Gallery, Crayke, N. Yorks; 16 Jun to 20 Aug 2017
LAND MARKS: An Exploration of Land Sea and Skies of the British Isles - Warwickshire Open Studios Spring Exhibition: Rugby Train Station, Rugby; 7 -22 Apr 2017 (exhibiting and curating)
RUGBY ARTISTS’ GROUP ANNUAL EXHIBITION: Floor One Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 25 Mar – 6 Apr 2017
FERENS OPEN EXHIBITION 2017: Ferens Gallery, Hull; 21 Jan – 12 Mar 2017
MIDLANDS & YORKSHIRE ARTISTS: Old Market Gallery, Rotherham, South Yorkshire; 17 Jan – 11 Feb 2017
STRANGE ATTRACTORS - MA Fine Arts Exhibition: Birmingham School of Art, Birmingham; 2 – 8 Sep 2016
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2015: Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 12 Sep 2015 - 9 Jan 2016
EYE TO THE SUMMIT - MA Fine Arts Exhibition: Birmingham School of Art, Birmingham; 4 - 11 Sep 2015
A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS …… BEEP Wales International Contemporary Painting Prize 2014: Elysium Gallery, The Old Iceland Building, Swansea; 10 Oct - 9 Nov 2014
LOOK: AMA Selected Works: Gallery 150, Leamington Spa; Oct 2014; (AMA - Association of Midland Artists)
ViewPONT: PREPOSITIONS OF LANDSCAPE: The Works Gallery, Birmingham; 29 April – 1 May 2014; 5 artists (exhibiting and co-curating)
CURATION
LAND MARKS: An Exploration of Land Sea and Skies of the British Isles - Warwickshire Open Studios Spring Exhibition: Rugby Train Station, Rugby; 7 -22 April 2017; curator
DESTINATION ANYWHERE - Warwickshire Open Studios Spring Exhibition: Rugby Train Station, Rugby; 24 March – 7 Apr 2016; Co-curator as KIT - Karina Cabanikova, IJE and Tammy Woodrow
ViewPONT: PREPOSITIONS OF LANDSCAPE: The Works Gallery, Birmingham; 29 April – 1 May 2014; 5 artists (exhibiting and co-curating)
Ije (eejay): A Scottish/Nigerian artist-healer. My practice draws on a lifetime of moving across the UK and beyond exploring landscapes, from mining and farming communities to industrial towns and cities, to wild spaces of mountains and coastlines. My painting, photography, installation and writing are products of immersive experiences, connecting audiences with the transformative properties of expansive natural spaces. Textured paintings with inclusions of manufactured materials are often described as bold and energetic, reflecting the feelings, political resonance, and sensuousness of my encounters. My photographs/videos initially act as immediate note taking, capturing glimpses of the times and spaces that I occupy in the world.
I am a mixed practice artist: I am a writer, a poet, an explorer, a painter, a photographer, a creator, a healer; I am a sculptor, an adventurer, a walker and a runner, a performer, a thinker, a catalyst. I look upwards, I look down upon, I look through and on the face of things; I encounter, touch, feel, remember, imagine, and fabricate.
In 2012 I took a step back from a busy career as a senior manager in the local government/health sector due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I had previously been very active doing martial arts, rock climbing, mountaineering and hill-walking but this had dwindled, and physical activity had become something I could only do sporadically. Time was now a resource I had in abundance and I began to do endurance activities of long steady walking or slow running building up to being outdoors for many hours/miles. This activity now underpins my practice, freeing my mind to generate creative ideas, meander through concepts and activate the gestures and physicality that later becomes integral to my making.
Since then I have focused on developing as an artist, alongside establishing a holistic therapy business, completing a Fine Art Diploma in 2014 followed by an MA Fine Art (Birmingham City University) in 2016. I also have a post graduate Management Studies Diploma (1998)
All work starts with a refrain - sound / colour / movement initiated during my activities which gathers intensity, galvanising the physical, expressive process. I work quickly and intensively with large gestures; materials like water, mutable, full of potential; concealing, revealing, creating spaces in between, worlds within worlds to be explored, to get lost and found, these spaces I go when I’m journeying.
I have a studio at home and at Grid Studios, Harborough Magna, as well as being a member of Rugby Artists’ Group. I am a Trustee of Coventry Artspace and have previously been a committee member of: Rugby Artists’ Group, Warwickshire Open Studios and Association of Midland Artists 2011-2014.
I promote, exhibit and sell my work; actively support artist development and engagement; work in collaboration with other artists/organisations, take commissions and run creative painting workshops for adults.
EXHIBITIONS
UK ARTISTS EXHIBITION: COOL BLUES On-line exhibition at theExhibit; Jan – March 2021
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2020 Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; Jan 2021, online only, due to Covid-19 restrictions
COVENTRY MADE ME (short film) Film commissioned by Coventry University & University of Warwick; release date Oct/Nov 2020
UK ARTISTS EXHIBITION Arts Trail Gallery, Leamington Spa; 1 Sep – 4 Oct 2020
I RELEASE MY COLOURS Solo Exhibition (whole gallery); Surface Gallery, Nottingham; 5 – 12 Sep 2020
I RELEASE MY COLOURS (preview) Artspace Windows, The Row, Ironmonger Row and Arcadia, City Arcade, Coventry; 20 Jun 2020 – 11 Jul 2020
UK ARTISTS EXHIBITION: SOLITUDE (Virtual Exhibition); May – June 2020
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2019 Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 23 Nov 2019 – 11 Jan 2020
ART IS WHY I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING 2nd Edtn: The Line Contemporary Art Space, Mercato Metropolitano, London; 1 – 3 Nov 2019
CHAMELEON: CONTEMPORARY COLOUR Surface Gallery, Nottingham; 4 – 19 Oct 2019; Chameleon: Art Prize winner
RUGBY ARTISTS’ GROUP AUTUMN EXHIBITION: Cotesbach Estate/St. Mary’s Church, Leicestershire; 13 – 22 Sep 2019
RUGBY ARTS TRAIL: Foyer, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 29 Jun – 14 Jul 2019
UK ARTISTS ANNUAL EXHIBITION: Floor One Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 8 – 20 Jun 2019
PALETTE: Focus Gallery, Nottingham; 17 May – 29 Jun 2019
POSITIVE EMOTIONS 2019: Kunsthuis Gallery, Crayke, N. Yorks; 6 Apr 2019 to 26 Jan 2020
EXTRAORDINARY EXHIBITION 2019: The Arches Project, Birmingham; 2 – 30 Apr 2019
RUGBY ARTISTS’ GROUP ANNUAL EXHIBITION: Floor One Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 30 Mar – 12 Apr 2019
LIGHT HOUSE OPEN EXHIBITION 2019: Light House Gallery & Media Centre, Fryer St, Wolverhampton; 6 Feb – 30 Mar 2019
TEMPERANCE – NATURAL WORLD EXHIBITION: Temperance, Bath St, Leamington Spa; 3 Feb – 12 Mar 2019
FERENS OPEN EXHIBITION 2019: Ferens Gallery, Hull; 1 Feb – 14 Apr 2019
WHEN WOMEN SPEAK – THE TOUR 2019 LIVE PFHOEM PERFORMANCE: The Wightman Theatre, Shrewsbury; 21 Jan 2019
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2018: Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 17 Nov 2018 – 12 Jan 2019
UK ARTISTS ANNUAL EXHIBITION: Direct Art Action Gallery, Sutton Coldfield; 1 – 30 Nov 2018; 1st Prize winner
our eARTh 2018: Kunsthuis Gallery, Crayke, N. Yorks; 24 Mar - 23 Dec 2018
RUGBY ARTISTS’ GROUP ANNUAL EXHIBITION: Floor One Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 24 Mar – 12 Apr 2018
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2017: Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 28 Nov 2017 – 13 Jan 2018
CHIPPING NORTON PEOPLE’S GALLERY INAUGURAL EXHIBITION: Chipping Norton People’s Gallery, Chipping Norton, Oxon; Dec 2017-Mar 2018
SUMMER EXHIBITION 2017: Kunsthuis Gallery, Crayke, N. Yorks; 16 Jun to 20 Aug 2017
LAND MARKS: An Exploration of Land Sea and Skies of the British Isles - Warwickshire Open Studios Spring Exhibition: Rugby Train Station, Rugby; 7 -22 Apr 2017 (exhibiting and curating)
RUGBY ARTISTS’ GROUP ANNUAL EXHIBITION: Floor One Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 25 Mar – 6 Apr 2017
FERENS OPEN EXHIBITION 2017: Ferens Gallery, Hull; 21 Jan – 12 Mar 2017
MIDLANDS & YORKSHIRE ARTISTS: Old Market Gallery, Rotherham, South Yorkshire; 17 Jan – 11 Feb 2017
STRANGE ATTRACTORS - MA Fine Arts Exhibition: Birmingham School of Art, Birmingham; 2 – 8 Sep 2016
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2015: Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 12 Sep 2015 - 9 Jan 2016
EYE TO THE SUMMIT - MA Fine Arts Exhibition: Birmingham School of Art, Birmingham; 4 - 11 Sep 2015
A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS …… BEEP Wales International Contemporary Painting Prize 2014: Elysium Gallery, The Old Iceland Building, Swansea; 10 Oct - 9 Nov 2014
LOOK: AMA Selected Works: Gallery 150, Leamington Spa; Oct 2014; (AMA - Association of Midland Artists)
ViewPONT: PREPOSITIONS OF LANDSCAPE: The Works Gallery, Birmingham; 29 April – 1 May 2014; 5 artists (exhibiting and co-curating)
CURATION
LAND MARKS: An Exploration of Land Sea and Skies of the British Isles - Warwickshire Open Studios Spring Exhibition: Rugby Train Station, Rugby; 7 -22 April 2017; curator
DESTINATION ANYWHERE - Warwickshire Open Studios Spring Exhibition: Rugby Train Station, Rugby; 24 March – 7 Apr 2016; Co-curator as KIT - Karina Cabanikova, IJE and Tammy Woodrow
ViewPONT: PREPOSITIONS OF LANDSCAPE: The Works Gallery, Birmingham; 29 April – 1 May 2014; 5 artists (exhibiting and co-curating)
I RELEASE MY COLOURS (Solo Exhibition); Surface Gallery, Nottingham; 5 – 12 Sep 2020
I RELEASE MY COLOURS (preview solo exhibition) Artspace Windows, The Row, Ironmonger Row and Arcadia, City Arcade, Coventry; 20 Jun 2020 – 11 Jul 2020
ART IS WHY I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING 2nd Edtn: The Line Contemporary Art Space, Mercato Metropolitano, London; 1 – 3 Nov 2019
CHAMELEON: CONTEMPORARY COLOUR Surface Gallery, Nottingham; 4 – 19 Oct 2019; Chameleon Art Prize winner
RUGBY ARTS TRAIL Foyer, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 29 Jun – 14 Jul 2019
UK ARTISTS ANNUAL EXHIBITION Floor One Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 8 - Jun 2019
POSITIVE EMOTIONS 2019 Kunsthuis Gallery, Crayke, N. Yorks; 6 Apr - 27 Oct 2019 extended to 26 Jan 2020
EXTRAORDINARY EXHIBITION 2019 The Arches Project, Birmingham; 2 – 30 Apr 2019
LIGHT HOUSE OPEN EXHIBITION 2019 Light House Gallery & Media Centre, Fryer St, Wolverhampton; 6 Feb – 30 Mar 2019
FERENS OPEN EXHIBITION 2019: Ferens Art Gallery, Hull; 1 Feb - 14 April 2019
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2018 Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 17 Nov 2018 – 12 Jan 2019
UK ARTISTS EXHIBITION Direct Art Action Gallery, Sutton Coldfield; 1 – 30 Nov 2018; 1st Prize winner
I RELEASE MY COLOURS (preview solo exhibition) Artspace Windows, The Row, Ironmonger Row and Arcadia, City Arcade, Coventry; 20 Jun 2020 – 11 Jul 2020
ART IS WHY I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING 2nd Edtn: The Line Contemporary Art Space, Mercato Metropolitano, London; 1 – 3 Nov 2019
CHAMELEON: CONTEMPORARY COLOUR Surface Gallery, Nottingham; 4 – 19 Oct 2019; Chameleon Art Prize winner
RUGBY ARTS TRAIL Foyer, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 29 Jun – 14 Jul 2019
UK ARTISTS ANNUAL EXHIBITION Floor One Gallery, Rugby Art Gallery, Rugby; 8 - Jun 2019
POSITIVE EMOTIONS 2019 Kunsthuis Gallery, Crayke, N. Yorks; 6 Apr - 27 Oct 2019 extended to 26 Jan 2020
EXTRAORDINARY EXHIBITION 2019 The Arches Project, Birmingham; 2 – 30 Apr 2019
LIGHT HOUSE OPEN EXHIBITION 2019 Light House Gallery & Media Centre, Fryer St, Wolverhampton; 6 Feb – 30 Mar 2019
FERENS OPEN EXHIBITION 2019: Ferens Art Gallery, Hull; 1 Feb - 14 April 2019
RUGBY OPEN EXHIBITION 2018 Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, Rugby; 17 Nov 2018 – 12 Jan 2019
UK ARTISTS EXHIBITION Direct Art Action Gallery, Sutton Coldfield; 1 – 30 Nov 2018; 1st Prize winner