Sejiro Avoseh — FACES OF NOWHERE

Sejiro Avoseh’s work feels alive, layered, and sometimes chaotic. He paints and collages fragmented bodies, faces, and patterns, exploring identity, migration, and multiplicity. His pieces feel intimate and public at the same time, asking questions about who we are and where we belong. Does imperfection matter? Maybe it’s exactly what makes the story real.

One work that resonates with me closely is the series of artwork from “Faces of Nowhere”. Avoseh layers painted portraits with patterned collages, fragmenting faces and bodies into overlapping shapes. Some elements are precise, others torn or misaligned, giving a sense of movement and instability. Textures are vibrant, drawing attention to cultural motifs, yet fragmentation creates tension between wholeness and multiplicity. Eyes of subjects meet the viewer, intimacy palpable, but other body parts disappear with the background. It could be reflecting migration, loss, and identity in transition. Every tear, fold, and brushstroke makes the work feel alive, as if it could shift if you looked away. This layering reminds me of diaspora, how identity is never singular and memory is always stacked. Despite the intensity, the works convey a delicate emotional tension. 

The materiality and color are crucial to the experience. Reds and oranges pulse with energy and rage; blues and greens offer moments of calm, tenderness, and reflection. The scale of the paintings amplifies this impact. Almost life-sized large canvases confront the viewer into the emotional world of the artist. The paintings look as if they are born out of his bodily engagement. His brushstrokes are gestures, almost dances across the canvas, marking moments of anger, joy, and memory. This makes the work feel alive and intimate. The act of painting itself becomes a performance of emotion and self-reflection.