Curatorial Statement

In Somewhere in Between, Fiyin Koko Tunde-Onadele creates a space that feels deeply personal yet profoundly communal. The 37.5-foot exhibit is more than an artwork—it’s a declaration, a reflection, and a living archive of the women whose lives and stories Fiyin has encountered and documented. It breathes new life into her past works, reimagining them into something expansive and immersive, centering these women in a way that explores the power of visibility and presence.  

Fiyin’s work acts as a means of archiving, preserving, and celebrating these women’s stories. Every layer of this exhibition combines movement and memory to produce a collective testament to their humanity and resilience. With these women at its core, the painting transforms into a new identity, one that insists on their significance in a world that often erases or diminishes them.

By engaging with memory, the exhibition explores the in-between spaces of the past and present, reality and dream. Fiyin captures the essence of womanhood in all its forms—bold, tender, restless, still, seen and unseen—through a rich layered palette and fluid transitions. The characters inhabit a space where boundaries blur, drawing viewers into an unfolding story of presence and recognition.

Somewhere in Between is an invitation, especially to women, to see themselves within its layers. It’s an act of affirmation, a quiet but powerful insistence that women’s presence should be celebrated, not questioned. In a world that often demands women to shrink themselves, this work is vast, unapologetic, and full of life. It is a conversation, an offering, and a homecoming—a reminder of the beauty in owning one’s space, narrative, and visibility.

— Curator, Chisom Peter Job and AMAH Team