Our First Art Collaboration (MOISTBEACH X AKG)

Moist Beach Club is happy to announce the artistic collaboration with the wonderful and talented visual artist Abisiola Khadijat Kuburat Gbadamosi. Using the Moist Beach club as inspiration, Abi will channel her artistry using multiple mediums. Artworks will be available for sale at the moist beach club online gallery via the website and at moist beach club, oniru. The artwork will also be a part of the official Sunday beach vibes flyer and will be on display at moist beach club on Sundays. We welcome Abi to the Moist Beach Family and look forward to being a part of her artistic journey.

ABISOLA KHADIJAT KUBURAT GBADAMOSI
MULTIDISCIPLINARY NARRATIVE EXPRESSIONIST

Abisola Kuburat Gbadamosi is a visual artist born in 1995 in Nigeria. Originally from Ibadan, Oyo state. She grew up spending the majority of her formative years between Lagos and London. Gbadamosi’s work focuses on the interplay between light and colour, spirituality, everyday life and loss. Having experienced the loss of both her parents at a relatively young age she turned to art as a form of therapy, a way of processing her innermost thoughts and working through conflicting emotions which she struggled to vocalise. The use of watercolour gives her works a distinct and noticeable style which she uses to create ethereal portraits, successfully translating her different states of consciousness. She believes in the spirituality of life and the ultimate divine source beyond the physical realm. She believes that Heaven can be very much experienced on earth and is inquisitive in the different realms that our consciousness can take us. For Gbadamosi, her art changes as her mind moves from one state of consciousness to the next. She understands how the mind is one of the most powerful tools we inhabit as human beings, and how it has the power to determine the entire trajectory of our lives. Gbadamosi has always attempted to find the balance between her traditional African culture and the concept of being her true authentic self. Her work is tied up in the present but also her past and future experiences. She operates on multiple frequencies, at first her work came out of a necessity to express her pain but she soon came to the realisation that her art was merely the tool used to direct her towards her truth (her higher self) and she aims that individuals that experience her work are challenged to look inwards and do the same. She aims to awaken the consciousness of the individuals who interact with her work. Her aim is to inspire the childlike essence that was installed in all of us before we were hit with the grave reality of life. From her various memories in between Lagos and London, art was always used as a mode of storytelling, a way to share her own history. Art provides her with the opportunity to create beauty out of sorrow. Similar to the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, Gbadamosi is interested in the murky and at times unattractive stages of life, she encourages us all to be mindful and present as these times can be some of the most rewarding and in turn beautiful experiences life has to offer.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My name is Abisola Kuburat Gbadamosi. I am a 26-year-old nature lover and visual artist. I am originally from Ibadan, Oyo state but I grew up in Lagos and London. I completed my primary school education at Corona School Ikoyi/Apapa then proceeded to British International School, Victoria Island, for my secondary education. I attended St. Bedes College, U.K. for my A-Levels. Ever since I was three years old, I was always up to no good – drawing on every visible surface of my house, be it walls or tables, you could tell I was there. My turning point happened when I was six. I walked into a toy store with my mother and fell in love with Barbie dolls. I remember being so hurt that we could not afford one at the time, so much so that my mother had the brilliant idea to draw them out, cut them up and use our imaginations to escape the harsh realities of life. In that moment I felt true euphoria. In 2008, my mother passed away and I lost everything – my heart, my drive, my will to live. It was strange because I had so many negative emotions running through me and no way to let them out. My art teacher at the time took it upon himself to teach me how to channel those emotions through art. It helped for a time, but in 2013 I lost my Dad as well. He was an architect that loved me unconditionally. I spent many months after that simply trying to figure out how to get up in the morning. I was broken. I am still not sure how I made it through all of that without my spirituality and art. After my first exhibition in London, I made an active decision in 2016 to be an Art Teaching Assistant at my alma mater to give back and learn from the kids. I shared my truth, my past and my creative process in hopes to give them a piece of what my teacher gave me in 2008. By doing so, I finally understood the quote by Pablo Picasso “every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when we grow up. ” Then it clicked. I wanted to create art that people could relate to, art that people could inspire, art that would make people feel that same euphoria I felt when I was a little girl.

CREATIVE EXPERIENCE

Selected solo and group exhibitions include :
GE:- SMO -The Black Effect- (London) (2022)
G.E:- ’Miniature art fair’, (2021)
G.E:- Art Pantheon Gallery (2021)
GE:- Rele Art Gallery YC Alumni -(National Museum ) (2020) G.E:- Art House Contemporary (Auction Exhibition) (2020) GE:- Nike Art Gallery: Balance for Better (2019) SOLO:- Artyrama Online Solo Exhibition (2019) SOLO:- GTB Virtual Exhibition (2018)
SOLO:- Oasis lounge MMA (2018)
G.E:- TSE Alter Ego (2018)
G.E:- Waffles and Cream (2018)
G.E:- Art House Contemporary (Auction Exhibition) (2018) G.E:- Rele Gallery: Young Contemporaries (2018) G.E:- Magic Of Lagos: The Hub (2017)
G.E:- Zarnellia Gallery (2017)
G.E:- TSE Exhibition (2017)
G.E:- White Space (2017)
G.E:- Freedom park: Afrikulture (2017)
G.E:- Nike Art Gallery: Be Bold For Change (2017) G.E:- Art In Mind (Brick Lane Gallery) – (London) (2016)