“I try to show them a different narrative of what a Nigerian is”: Valerie Etitinwo on deconstructing stereotypes

Nigerian artist born and raised in Geneva was more concerned with creating “pretty” art – trying to achieve something that was “girly and Instagram-ish looking,” she tells It’s Nice That. As time went by, however, her motives started to evolve and soon her aesthetic started to take shape in other forms. “And while I think that it can be beautiful when well executed, I don’t believe I was really good at it,” she continues to say of her past style. “Now, I’m more focused on creating art the disregards any form of realism, logic or even proportion.”

Time can be your greatest friend with it comes to developing your own, unique visual language. And it’s a process that should never be rushed. For a while, Valerie saw art as a hobby and never imagined that she could pursue the medium on a series note. This was mostly due to the fact that “real artists”, she thought, needed to hail from an artistic background and have a foot in art’s door from an early age. Valerie wasn’t exposed to a creative career at all while growing up, so art as a profession never felt like a viable option. She never understood that it could be more than an enjoyable hobby. That was until 2019, when she first picked up a brush and started to become aware of its possibilities. “I would say my very first encounter with art was in kindergarten,” she says. “However, art really had an impact on my life when I joined an art class in 2008. It was for a very short period but I quickly fell in love with the freedom to create literally anything.”

Valerie’s inspirations are rooted in cubism – the art of warping perspective and a means of providing a different view of the subject, be it a figure or object. These types of paintings are often fragmented and abstract, and have long been around since 1907 approximately when pioneers Picasso and Georges Braque started working in this way. It’s common to see overly 2D, geometric outlines, a style that Valerie is particularly fond of for its absurd placement of shapes and creative freedom. The artist doesn’t spend every day painting, and has recently been working in her bedroom-turned-studio. “On a usual Saturday,” she says, “I start by taping a large piece of canvas to any flat surface I can find. I then paint it all black.” After these preliminary moves, the work can then go in any direction possible; it’s a highly intuitive process that begins with simplicity, before advancing into a map of shapes and finished off with acrylic paint, occasionally using wax pastel on smaller pieces.

Talking of a recent piece, Valerie points us in the direction of Port Harcourt in the 80s. This painting is inspired by a story of her mother, who is from Port Harcourt, Nigeria, “and a story that a lot of Nigerians from her generation love to tell,” says Valerie. “I always hear about how great things were in Nigeria back in the days. And while I love listening to that particular story, I don’t believe that was the case."

Another piece is Ajebutter in the family house. This one sees a crop of a subject sat on a bashfully coloured yellow sofa, dressed in a pinstripe suit with legs folded gracefully. “Ajebutter is slang in Nigeria that basically means someone who grew up with a silver spoon,” says Valerie of the title’s meaning. “In a way, it could define someone like myself (a Nigerian who grew up abroad).” Having always felt and been perceived as being too Swiss or Nigerian, she holds this piece dearly as it tells the narrative of her own personal experiences – told amongst a simple composition and a bold, attention grabbing colour palette.

Despite the deep-rooted context of this last piece, Valerie’s work doesn’t always tend to have a deep message. It switches depending on the work at hand, and most of the time she just wants to make something visually interesting. “So sometimes a smile or a ‘hmm’ from my audience is the response I’m looking for,” she says on a lasting comment about her paintings. “Also, most of my audience isn’t actually in or from Nigeria, so I try to show them a different narrative of what a Nigerian is.” Though she's aware the country has its downfalls, she looks to the potential in whatever lies ahead. She adds, “I’m hoping that my art will be intriguing to my audience and thus change the narrative that is pushed in Western media. This message is especially important for people like me who grew up in the diaspora. I’ve had to unlearn some of the stereotypes about Nigeria over the years. I hope that some of my pieces help deconstruct some of those stereotypes.”