Q&A: An Interview with Chiedu Okonta

What made you want to be an artist? 

That's an interesting question. I've been an artist for as long as I can remember. There are countless stories about me as a child, drawing whenever relatives came to visit. I entered my first art competition in primary school at the age of 10 and even appeared on TV at the same age to talk about art. Initially, my motivation was to prove that I could draw better than my older brother, who was also known for his artistic talent. However, as I grew older, I found that I couldn't stop creating. Art brought me peace and allowed me to express my thoughts. My imagination has always been vivid, and I felt a constant need to bring my ideas into physical form. In a way, I had no choice; being an artist chose me. For many years, I believe I was the one holding myself back from fully embracing my identity as an artist.

Do you make artwork primarily to understand yourself, or to be understood by others?

I believe both. Yes, both. I make artwork because there is something I need to let out to fully understand it by stretching whatever initial idea or image I had, which may include further research or just continuous working of the idea until I am satisfied or not. Or it could be because it is the clearest way I can communicate an idea, a group of ideas, or emotions to people/an audience.

When someone who doesn’t know you encounters your work for the first time, what do you hope they notice before anything else?

In my current project, which I have been working on for years, I would say the concepts of agency and urgency. I use figurative expressions that can immediately transport the viewer into themes, processes, journeys, questions, or—very importantly—possible solutions, even without any historical context. Often, there is a palpable sense of political engagement, unease, and a call to action. My works typically reflect the questions I am grappling with, and I hope they create space for dialogue whenever and wherever they are encountered.

What are your artistic signatures? 

I work figuratively because I know my work demands it. It necessitates criticality and extensive research, but does not only exist in the confines of the art space or rely on the terminology or interpreted by the language of ‘art speak’. Instead, it extends into the broader world. My work is semiotic; iconography comes to mind, greatly involving symbols that can be found in the visible images, the colours used and sometimes even the style and medium. Texts also frequently play a significant role in my work.

Has your background in civil engineering influenced your approach to making or your compositional decisions in painting? 

Yes, I believe they influenced each other significantly. I was greatly inspired by comics when I was very young, and one of the most intriguing aspects was the perspective of the cityscapes and the built environment in the background/behind the foreground characters. I chose to study Civil Engineering for the same reason: it would allow me to imagine—working alongside architects—and physically create these environments. To me, things initially appear as just lines, shapes, and distances; the additional elements come later as secondary values added to these. I still approach my paintings in this way. Civil Engineering has shaped my attention to intricate details, forms, dimensions, and the functional integration of images. While this may not be as important in today’s contemporary art world, it is the style I enjoy producing to this day.

Colour acts as a symbolic propeller in your work. Are there other formal elements you tend to use to convey narrative in your paintings? 

As mentioned earlier, my Artistic lexicon comprises symbols. Almost everything you see carries weight. A single image may have multiple references, meanings or entendres, and in dialogue with other images. The colours, as you know, carry intentions.

You take a multidisciplinary approach to making. Are there specific mediums you use to explore particular themes or conceits? Do they bring out different aspects of your creative personality?

The simplest way to explain my choice of medium is that I use whatever I believe is best suited for the specific artwork I want to create. There isn’t much more to it than that. For instance, I might begin developing an idea through drawing or painting, only to realise that it would be better expressed as a sculpture because it needs to be viewed from all angles, or because it requires volume, motion, or sound. However, my primary mediums of expression are definitely drawing and painting.

Does your practice benefit from more freedom or restraint?

Restraint? No, I wish I had it. That would help me create faster. Honestly, I could benefit from some restraint, especially regarding density.

Are you ritualistic or chaotic when it comes to creating art and maintaining a studio practice?

I am neither chaotic nor ritualistic in my creative process. I hardly ever make use of large gestural movements because I find realistic or semi-realistic forms important. Although I begin with just a loose idea and a primary image in mind, I tend to execute my work neatly. There is no clear order or consistency in the way I start or approach a new piece in comparison to any previous work.

Do you research and ideate separately to art-making, or do you find yourself constantly moving between the two and refining as you go? 

Usually moving between the two.

Is there an unfinished or ‘failed’ work that still lingers in your mind?

No, not really. There are some paintings I’ve set aside, but that's usually because halfway in, I now want them to turn out differently and realise I need to rework a large portion of them, or I feel mentally overwhelmed and tempted to start something new. Occasionally, I think that a piece I don’t like now might not be so bad in the future, and if that’s the case, I’ll be brave enough to just paint over it and reuse the canvas.

Do you struggle more with overworking a piece or with finishing altogether? 

I often struggle with overworking my pieces because there’s always something more to add or a way to enhance them further and make them look better. I have to remind myself to stop frequently. Even when I usually consider a piece finished, I never quite feel that it is complete—at least not for me.

How do you measure your artistic progress? Do you feel pressure from external forces when measuring progress?

I used to obsess over intrinsic and extrinsic pressures until I re-evaluated my values and the reward systems I was using to measure progress. I’m on a unique journey, with a niche practice, a distinct voice, and perhaps a specific audience, and often working against the grain of popular trends. So, I don’t measure success by external pressures anymore? It’s helpful to understand what success typically looks like in the ecosystem any individual operates in, especially for what to do or how it was done, but fortunately, success in the arts is more fluid and can be defined individually, as long as one is honest with themselves.

Do you ever feel pressure to intellectualise your work, and does that clash with the instinctive or emotive side of making?

I believe that since a significant amount of research is conducted on the theme I am working on, over intellectualising may occur. However, I consciously try to limit this because I fear losing an audience I want to engage with and appreciate my work.

Which comes first for you - concept, material, or feeling - and does that hierarchy evershift? 

Feeling, Concept and then Material.

What are your favourite materials to use in your practice? 

Pencil! I love my pencils

What are some of your favourite art stores for supplies? 

Crafty Arts Romford (maybe closed now. It was run and supervised by experienced artists, so I used to get all kinds of advice there).

Are there any shows you’re looking forward to or artists you’re excited to see? 

Sokari Douglas Camp’s coming exhibition: Fashion and Fortune

What is one tip you would recommend for someone getting into art making? 

Sounds like a cliché, but do you, everyone else is taken. Also, understand that Art and the Artworld are not the same thing. Learn to differentiate it.