An Artist’s Perspective: Joel Chidi Sydenham
Joel Chidi Sydenham
As we start another year, Kio Briggs dives deeper into consciousness, creativity and compassion. Throughout the year, he sits down with artists and change makers to open up a conversation around creative processes and inspirations.
What is your definition of Art? Honestly expressing oneself, like water? A precise depiction of reality as we see it - a dream? An age old question? I find that the best person to ask about art is an artist.
Joel Chidi Sydenham, a Nigerian-British Artist, Painter and Chemical Engineer, recently shared ‘A K9 Conundrum’ - a piece that celebrates dogs and the diversity of their species. In our conversation, Joel discusses how we experience pets, especially in relation to non-domesticated canines such as wolves and foxes. He continues to compare how different each breed looks from one another; yet, he also points out how they experience similar perspectives on Nature. I believe that, in life, we mature into better versions of ourselves when we choose to appreciate a perspective other than our own: to connect with life by appreciating a perspective of a species other than our own point of view, as the perspective of a species other than our own is important for the greater picture.
During his time studying Chemical Process Engineering at the University of Surrey, as studying a science tends to do, he grew aware of natural concepts and the intelligence of nature. He recalls an example of one of these concepts that sparked his perspective - the realisation that a tree requires mainly sunlight and water to produce wood, fruits, vegetables, leaves, oxygen and shade. He realises that, as humans, we are part of this intelligence and that the closer that we get to understanding nature, the more we can understand ourselves as part of nature too. He suggests that, perhaps, by tapping into another species and their perspective of the world, like one of a tree or a dog, we can gain a deeper understanding of our place in the world. In this light, Nature expresses itself through the artist, the vessel. Perhaps art is nature expressing itself?
‘Canine Conundrum’ by Joel Chidi Sydenham
Reclaiming one's cultural identity
In another painting titled ‘Indigenous’, Joel taps into his research on uncontacted indigenous tribes and explores how similar tribes around the world, who have never been in contact with each other, live similar lives, attuned to Nature's rhythms and, as such, with each other - a humanity that transcends time and space.
Motivated by his desire to be happy, Joel unravels that he chose to be an artist. He mentions that he is more spiritually inclined now - a byproduct of taking a leap of faith in oneself I believe. He describes his younger years in Ibanda - the child of a Nigerian mother and British father - as ‘sheltered’ and ‘living in a social bubble’. He reveals how he is sometimes inclined to feeling uncomfortable in certain localised situations, such as buying items from a Nigerian market. Yet, he affirms how this doesn’t affect his love for his culture; though he feels that he could have immersed himself more in it during his younger years.
He was initially drawn to the colourful fabrics of Nigerian cultures, before music by Fela Kuti, which he later experienced as a ‘reclamation of identity’. These artistic windows into Nigerian culture opened up his perspective of the potential of an artist from Africa and the diaspora. Joel recalls being in school in Ibadan and the curriculum focusing mainly on learning about the ‘Western world’, instead of learning about Nigeria and its history; but through the arts, Nigerian artists, like Fela Kuti, were free to shine brightly, bringing recognition of Nigeria back to Nigerians.
‘Indigenous’ by Joel Chidi Sydenham
Creative Community
Joel also talked about his experience of being in the UK, and how that too has influenced his work. The UK introduced him to a creative community, something which was noticeably absent, or at least not readily accessible in Nigeria during his upbringing. He reveals how creative communities helped him to foster his artistic desires by providing safe spaces for him to experience others being vulnerable whilst sharing their art; he too was inspired to do the same.
Being away from home helped him to realise what he had at home - a great, comfortable life. He admits to having a misconception about the standard of living in the West, of everyone generally having a better standard of living than everyone in Nigeria; he came to observe that this was not the case when he moved to the UK at 15 years old.
The Next Generation
A first time father-to-be, Joel would love his growing family to experience life in Nigeria at some point. Since the global outrage around George Flloyd’s death in 2020, mainstream media in the West has been better at amplifying black representation, as there are more people from African lineage being represented now; yet, there is still space for highlighting and celebrating the diversity of many African cultures.
Regardless of where he and his family spend their time, his advice to his child will be to do something she loves, to believe in herself and to always take the next step towards her dreams. “Keep doing what’s in front of you and the next thing will reveal itself. During the process there will be highs and lows; through it all, remember why you’re doing it.”
Joel has greatly benefited from a multicultural upbringing; he shares that it has shaped his ‘social adaptability’, which plays a role in being able to communicate the meaning of his art to different groups of people. His Nigerian-British upbringing has evolved him into a multidimensional human being, one whose tone and way of communicating can adapt to his audience. A welcomed ability for any artist.
Joel’s Recommendations
Listen:
Read:
Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi
Watch:
Serengeti, dir. Reinhard Radke
Apocalypto, dir. Mel Gibson
