In conversation with Gayle Ebose
“I have always expressed myself through art, right from an early age.”
- Gayle Ebose
Image: Gayle Ebose
Gayle Ebose uses the process of portrait painting to encapsulate the joys and mundanities of everyday Christian living in the 21st century. Her portraits serve as a way to preserve the testimony of how God sustains His people, transforms their character and equips them for life as sojourners on earth. This enquiry places both Ebose and her subject’s telling their story at the centre, navigating life’s experiences through the body and skin they are in. Her work reflects on the beauties and intricacies of motherhood and femininity, the trials of illness and the frailties that comes with an ever-changing and ageing body. The subjectivity of her portraits reveal agency as well as intimacy, they are conversational and unapologetic in their presence. They each invite us to contemplate our own existence and inner wellbeing.
How did you begin your journey into art?
I have always expressed myself through art, right from an early age. Whether through drawing or writing, it has always been something that is a part of me.
How would someone recognise your artwork? Would you say there is some sort of recognisable characteristic?
Maybe my use of yellow. Even if the subject matter is more on the deeper side of things the colour yellow always features.
Do any past or current artists inspire you?
Oh yes, plenty! Where do I even begin? Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Jordan Casteel, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Lina Iris Viktor, Amy Sherald, Kerry James Marshal, Beauford Delaney, Alice Neel, Frida Kahlo… I tell you, the list could go on.
Which current art world trends are you following?
Is it a trend to see well-painted melanin skin? It should be a standard really. But hey, I love to see it.
How do you think the Internet has impacted the art industry?
With the internet it becomes all about the scrolling and the liking rather than a full-blown isolated moment to absorb the work you are looking at. Screens reduce everything to pixelated squares so we don’t get a sense of scale and that wow-factor if you were to see the work in a gallery. Saying all that, your work is so much more accessible and reaches a larger audience than any other form of advertisement. Your own little bubble of people who are simply interested in your type of work follow you, which I suppose is also good.
How do you seek out opportunities?
Locally, usually. I look around and think, ‘What is the need here? How can my community benefit from this?’ That’s usually my starting point.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Let tomorrow worry about itself, and that’s not just advice, that’s scripture!
Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?
You can look out for a few of my paintings in some London galleries throughout November. I have a series of new paintings brewing in my mind, they should be surfacing really soon.
