City Series 6 by Kemi Adeyemi-Wilson

City Series 6, Acrylic on Canvas, 24 x 24 inches

I have been working on a City Series for some time now. As an architect, I decided to put aside the formality of designed buildings and the way we present them and lean towards my artistic side and finish the buildings in a more fluid manner. Homelessness is very real across the world and many of us are said to be a paycheck away from being homeless. Women, children, and more vulnerable members of society are particularly hit as low wages, high childcare costs, unemployment, and underemployment mean many stay in abusive relationships because they cannot afford to get a place of their own and live in safe areas. There are also professions that pay below what is considered a living wage. Universal basic income may be a way forward but how do we reflect living costs across countries and geography?

Immigrants to a new country often face displacement, homelessness, and less-than-ideal living conditions in a quest for a better life.What sort of home you grow up with has a strong impact on one’s emotional well-being and ultimately quality of life. As I paint, I often ponder on how we can address inequalities across board and whether we will be able to make progress on ensuring that everyone has access to shelter which is a basic need. There are so many connections and intersections that this series of paintings continues to unfold. I am curious to hear how others interpret these paintings.

Kemi Adeyemi – Wilson is an Architect, SME Business Speaker & Mentor, Writer currently living in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. She graduated from the University of Lagos, Nigeria with combined degrees in Architecture and Environmental Studies. She also graduated from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania with an MBA in Marketing, Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management. She has lived, studied, and sold her art on 3 continents, and participated in solo and group exhibitions in the US and UK. She is passionate about educating on global art across social media and has so far profiled over 250 artists. A multi-potentialite, she has run a stall selling Art at Spitalfields Market, London, a cake business, a bag & accessories design business, and more. As a first-generation British citizen and now a Canadian Immigrant, she understands the need for cross-cultural integration and the need for communities to provide creative hubs where people of all backgrounds, religions & cultures can come together and create, work and interact.