Getting rid of society’s pressure with Joval Oshone-Umoru

Through her drawings, Nigerian artist Joval Oshone-Umoru aims to draw attention to the “unrealistic expectations society holds for women in Nigerian and the African continent as a whole.”
Inspired by her own life and the lives of women around her, Joval’s portraits dream of
a better tomorrow, where women aren’t rushed into marriages and are allowed to
make their own choices without the pressure of society. In our conversation,
we talked with Joval about how she got into art, the situation of Nigerian
women in society and in the arts, and how her practice and faith
in God have helped her through life.

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For those who don’t know you: please tell us who you are and how you got into art.

My name is Joval Oshone-Umoru. I am from the southern part of Nigeria and I am a Mixed media realist, expressionist figurative and abstract artist. I was born an artist. Furthermore, I began at the age of four, and I am self-taught to a considerable extent. I started my full time studio practice in the year 2020.

In your first email to me you wrote: “My works centre on the unrealistic expectations people have of women whether single or married here in Africa, and the mental health issues that follow.” Could you please talk a bit more about that?

In most parts of Africa, including Nigeria, society expects that at a certain age women are not supposed to be single. And  singleness is superstitiously blamed on spiritual forces and the thought of this leads to depression, episodes of anxiety, paranoia and avoidable mistakes. Women now see marriage as a social achievement and conforming to the pressure, rush into it, usually with disastrous consequences. They jump into the wrong hands.

The expectations doesn’t end at being single, even when “safely” married, more expectations, demands, and standards follow, many of them unreasonable. These demands and expectations could be from in-laws, one’s own family and close friends, sometimes even the random stranger. They tell you how to dress, how to behave in your own home, the duties you owe, and they practically tell you how to live in your home! Those who consider themselves experienced in marriage interfere with yours.

The undue influence sometimes triggers domestic violence where one spouse begins to attempt to enforce the standards created by third parties on the other spouse. When one spouse, typically the woman, is subject to constant physical violence from the husband, the society expect her to simply live with it because that is how it has always been. My body of work touches on these issues and uses metaphors and poetic language to express them. In the society I live in, issues like these, no one is willing to talk about. Most people would rather avoid the subject maybe because of the fear of offending family or already existing tradition.

I hope to use my works to celebrate love, peace, freedom, romance, resilience, and family values.

Your also said that you are inspired by your personal journey through life from being single to married & motherhood, and by matching experiences from other women before and around you and that you dare to dream of a continent where vulnerable women are free from undue pressure and control by the existing culture.

Although not pressured into marriage and ready to get married when I did, there are however so many young women, young single women, facing so much pressure from parents who desperately want grandchildren. I, personally, know someone who was so pressured into getting married when she clearly wasn’t ready and wasn’t even sure if he was the one. Sadly the same people who rushed her into an unwilling marriage began to give her reasons at some point in the marriage why she should leave. It all ended in a very messy divorce.

These experiences with people who have been hurt by society’s false standards and expectations inspire me to talk about and bring people’s attention to these topics no one wants to talk about. I have noticed that in this part of Africa people are afraid to criticize or point out errors committed by families or family members, no matter how grave or damaging they may be. But I choose not to be afraid. The way things are going, suicides due to depression from society’s definition of singleness and stigma from broken marriages that never should have happened in the first place, will soon become commonplace if something is not done urgently. Thanks to the use of social media, in Africa there is an increase in mental health awareness, although not as much as it should be but at least enough to draw attention to something with a big need of attention for too long. Broadly speaking, these are the things that inspire my works and I believe that talking about these issues will educate and reorient the minds of people on the subject.

I dare to dream of a continent where vulnerable women are free from undue pressure and control by the existing culture.

You mentioned healing and mental health: has your art practice helped you in that regard and do you think that, in general, art can help people to heal?

Healing is not only when pain stops quickly or totally. Healing is a process of soothing or providing relief and strength to go on. This could take a long time or short time. I for example, have issues occasionally with depression and anxiety, but talking about them with my spouse helps me to deal with them. I grow stronger, and I’m more able to cope as the days go by. I also draw inspiration from The Bible, being a Christian myself. Several Bible verses help me find strength and healing when I am having episodes of anxiety or in pain.

Healing is not only when pain stops quickly or totally. Healing is a process of soothing or providing relief and strength to go on.

The more people are willing to share all these issues plaguing women, whether single or married, the chances of healing become greater. Women will have a sense of not being alone. I must also mention that concerning the perpetrators of these vices against women, a society where people openly engage these issues would serve to deter and dissuade those who tend to be responsible for the way things are. I’m not assuming that things will change completely, but I’m confident that a very significant shift from the norm can be achieved.

The themes and subjects of my works and the messages they send resonate in my mind as I create the works and also talk about them. I must say that I too find healing in them. Much like the way people keep journals, I do my journaling with pencil graphite, charcoal, tonal gradation, lines and colors, the canvas being the journal of my thoughts.

How is the art scene where you live (especially for women)?

There is a lot of hope for women in art in my country Nigeria. Opportunities in art are increasing by the day and there isn’t much a bias against women. There are so many female artists creating great works, with some already with features and entries in Forbes. I find this very encouraging and an indication of what to expect for women in art.

What are you currently working on (if anything) / any upcoming project you’d like to mention?

I recently created a character who is called Somi in a series I have titled “conversations in the kitchen”. Conversations in the kitchen was inspired by my story; I had decided to forgo what I was originally studying in school, to pursue a career in Fine Arts. I was however almost discouraged by people close to me in these precise words “your art will end up in the kitchen.” That was a way of saying that as a married woman, I could not combine being a wife/mother with being an artist. This is one of the false notions that holds sway in Africa, Nigeria to be specific, that being a wife and or a mother cannot combine with any other talent or career ambition. But here I am a wife and both a mother of two and still an artist and all the other things I have tried my hands on and I still want to continue being an artist. Conversation in the kitchen will be a very daring project with a lot of “whys”.

One of the false notions that holds sway in Nigeria is that being a wife and/or mother cannot combine with any other talent or career ambition.

The name by the way is from the Esako tribe of Southern Nigeria where my husband happens to be from. Parents and grandparents-in-law  have a practice there of giving new names to their sons-in-law and daughters-in-law. My grandmother-in-law gave me a very long name that sounded like a sentence, but for short Somi would suffice and that word alone means “a good thing”. Somi is not afraid to challenge the current conditions and speak the truth for herself and on behalf of those who are afraid to speak out. Somi is homely, hard-working industrious and creative. The title, conversations from the kitchen, implies that even as a homely woman, Somi is still active and vocal and her voice can be heard ringing out from her home to the kitchen of every woman who cares to listen. And I can’t wait to begin the project.

Any advice that you’ve been given and that you’d like to share with fellow emerging artists?

As for advice I really can’t say I have received any that stands out. There is one, however, that should never be accepted by any artist, the opinion that there is nothing to the gifts and career aspirations of an artist. Artists should never give up or be cowered by the ill informed opinions of people who don’t believe in art. I mentioned journaling earlier, and I believe that the moment you stop journaling your thoughts as an artist, the whole essence of your artistic existence will gradually fall apart.

Any artists (emerging or not) you’d like to recommend?

Two artists I would gladly recommend are Rewa Udoji and Tunde Lasisi. They are not just exceptional artists but an all round kind hearted colleagues and are supportive of my art journey to a fault.

An last question, what are your hopes for the future?

Well, the answer is in one of the statements I made earlier and it remains that I hope to use my works to celebrate love, peace, freedom, romance, resilience, and family values. I dare to dream of a continent where vulnerable women are free from undue pressure and control by the existing culture and tradition, and to bring healing to those already impacted by it.

Thank you so much for participating!

Thanks a million for having me.