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I was teased a lot when we moved to the United States. There I was a ten-year-old immigrant from Nigeria, with a different accent, different hairstyle, different clothes, different everything. Add my low self-esteem, and what you get is an easy target for relentless bullying. I quickly learned that American was good and Nigerian was bad, and since I wanted to fit in so badly, I quickly assimilated. Fast forward more than twenty years, and I am using my artwork to show that I am no longer embarrassed or ashamed of my culture and heritage. I always thought that because Africa had so many issues, I couldn't be proud of being an African, but overtime I have come to realize that it is possible to love something even though it is flawed. I have learned that I am worthy as an African and that Africa is worthy. In my paintings, I use both acrylic paint and collage pieces from vintage magazines dating back to the 1950’s to share my feelings about being an African. I try not to hold back or paint Africa in an overly rosy or overly grim light. I want to show both the good and the bad and share the struggles and joy that I feel when I think of my beloved homeland. I hope to take my viewers on a journey with each painting. I want to inspire others who are going through what I’ve been through and hopefully re-ignite self-pride and self-love for those who need it the most.

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View In My Room

My Beauty is Tall Collage

Abi Salami

United States

Collage, Acrylic on Canvas

Size: 24 W x 36 H x 1.5 D in

Ships in a Box

SOLD
Originally listed for $3,860

77 Views

20

Artist Recognition
link - Featured in One to Watch

Featured in One to Watch

link - Featured in the Catalog

Featured in the Catalog

link - Showed at the The Other Art Fair

Showed at the The Other Art Fair

link - Artist featured in a collection

Artist featured in a collection

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

I was teased a lot when we moved to the United States. There I was a ten-year-old immigrant from Nigeria, with a different accent, different hairstyle, different clothes, different everything. Add my low self-esteem, and what you get is an easy target for relentless bullying. I quickly learned that American was good and Nigerian was bad, and since I wanted to fit in so badly, I quickly assimilated. Fast forward more than twenty years, and I am using my artwork to show that I am no longer embarrassed or ashamed of my culture and heritage. I always thought that because Africa had so many issues, I couldn't be proud of being an African, but overtime I have come to realize that it is possible to love something even though it is flawed. I have learned that I am worthy as an African and that Africa is worthy. In my paintings, I use both acrylic paint and collage pieces from vintage magazines dating back to the 1950’s to share my feelings about being an African. I try not to hold back or paint Africa in an overly rosy or overly grim light. I want to show both the good and the bad and share the struggles and joy that I feel when I think of my beloved homeland. I hope to take my viewers on a journey with each painting. I want to inspire others who are going through what I’ve been through and hopefully re-ignite self-pride and self-love for those who need it the most.

DETAILS AND DIMENSIONS
Collage:

Acrylic on Canvas

Original:

One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:

24 W x 36 H x 1.5 D in

SHIPPING AND RETURNS
Delivery Time:

Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.

Abi Salami is a self-taught artist who creates large-scale surrealist works that explore her experiences as a Nigerian immigrant and Black woman in the United States. Through the use of a personal visual lexicon made up of symbols, she explores topics such as memory, mental health and race. Based in Dallas, Texas, she earned a Masters in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and worked in Corporate America for almost a decade before committing to painting full-time. Since then, her artwork has graced the walls of esteemed institutions such as Montresso Art Foundation in Morocco, and Galerie Droste in Germany, Cris Worley Fine Arts in Dallas, C24 Gallery and Field Projects in New York City, the Women’s Museum and the African American Museum of Art in Dallas. She was the winner of the 2021 Hopper Prize. She was selected as a candidate of the Saatchi Art 2020 Rising Stars under 35 Class and a 2021 New Voices Top 100 Artists. She and her work have been featured on the Washington Post, New York Times, Artland, Artsy, D Magazine, Glasstire and Patron Magazine.

Artist Recognition
Featured in One to Watch

Featured in Saatchi Art's curated series, One To Watch

Featured in the Catalog

Featured in Saatchi Art's printed catalog, sent to thousands of art collectors

Showed at the The Other Art Fair

Handpicked to show at The Other Art Fair presented by Saatchi Art in Dallas, Dallas

Artist featured in a collection

Artist featured by Saatchi Art in a collection

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