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September Spotlight Artists: Jayeola Joshua, Gideon Niikoi Kotey, and Billie Zangewa
- THE.CCART
- Sep 3
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 4
This September, THE.CCART spotlights three powerful artists whose work explores identity, tradition, and personal storytelling. Jayeola Joshua, Gideon Niikoi Kotey, and Billie Zangewa each use their chosen mediums to reflect on the human experience, from inner emotion to cultural memory and the quiet strength found in everyday life.
Jayeola Joshua: Expressing Emotion Through Symbolic Portraiture
Jayeola Joshua, a Nigerian artist based in Lagos, creates expressive acrylic paintings that explore emotion, identity, and the human condition. His work blends bold lines with subtle symbolism, resulting in portraits that reflect both personal and collective experiences.
Joshua’s art invites viewers to engage with the emotional complexity behind each figure. His compositions often carry quiet power, offering a space for reflection on themes such as vulnerability, self-discovery, and connection. Watch the video interview below to hear more about his artistic journey, influences, and evolving studio practice.
Gideon Niikoi Kotey: Honouring African Traditions Through Painting
Gideon Niikoi Kotey, also known as Deon Art, is a Ghanaian artist whose figurative portraits and landscapes are rooted in cultural identity and tradition. Based in Accra and raised in a creative home with early guidance from his father, Kotey’s work focuses on preserving African customs through depictions of attire, rituals, and symbolism unique to different tribes.
Inspired by scenes of everyday life and the visual language of African heritage, his paintings offer a deep sense of connection between past and present. Through layered storytelling and cultural symbolism, Kotey’s art encourages viewers to reconnect with a sense of pride and collective history.
Billie Zangewa: Stitching Stories of Care and Identity
Billie Zangewa, a Malawi-born artist based in Johannesburg, creates hand-stitched silk collages that explore themes of care, femininity, and selfhood. Drawing from her own experiences as a woman and mother, she transforms intimate domestic scenes into reflective, empowering works of art.
Using raw silk and delicate stitching, Zangewa weaves together personal and political narratives that affirm Black womanhood while challenging stereotypes. Her compositions, rich in texture and colour, highlight the strength found in vulnerability and the beauty of everyday life. Through her work, she invites viewers into a space of introspection, healing, and presence.
This September, explore the deeply personal and culturally rich works of Jayeola Joshua, Gideon Niikoi Kotey, and Billie Zangewa. Their practices span paint, fabric, and symbolism to tell stories of inner lives, ancestral connection, and strength in the everyday.
By THE.CCART
