Lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Esiri Erheriene-Essi only started painting a few years ago, after she came across the work of Lucian Freud, which “can capture her constant distracted mind first with awe, then envy, then hatred.” Her work is inhabited with icons from musical and film history, not afraid to confront the viewer with racial issues. She paints at high speed, using lots of colour, almost ‘moulding’ the paint in place.
On her website she writes: “Identities are nowt but constructions and not fixed so mine is always changing. I originally set out to try and save the world, but now I’m not sure I like it enough. It is sometimes the small, unimportant and often forgotten components of daily life that say the most about us, and which can take on iconic status if we allow them the space to do so. Inspiration for my work is sourced from my everyday bewilderment at things and images I see, situations and stories I encounter or remember, cultural references, icons, and music that are part of, yet not exclusive to my own life.
My work can simply be condensed into the John Baldessari quote: ‘Historical mispronounced sounds like hysterical.’”
Esiri Erheriene-Essi recently graduated from the prestigious post graduate residency De Ateliers in Amsterdam. In 2006 she finished a master in Fine Arts at the University of East London, after completing her bachelor in Media Studies at the same university. Her work was exhibited in several galleries in London and Amsterdam.
