Big Kildare Interview: Newbridge woman tells a thousand words through her mixed-media art

"I really thought as a teenager that I was kind of artistic, but not creative… it’s only recently that I'm kind of leaning more into thinking of myself as more of a creative person."

These were the poignant words expressed by Newbridge artist Fiyin Oluokon, an architecture student who also harbours a massive talent when it comes to mixed-media artwork, some of which has been featured with the local art initiative, PopUpArt Newbridge, and in the Riverbank Arts Centre.

Sitting down with the Leinster Leader, the newly turned 21-year-old explained that her family is originally from Nigeria, but she has lived in Newbridge her whole life.

A former student of St Conleth’s Community College (also known locally as 'The Tech'), she explained that while in her secondary school years, she never really considered the possibility of pursuing art.

Fiyin explained: "You don't think you can make things on a consistent basis. But with (the freedom of) college, I kind of leaned into more of that.

"We started making collages as a design tool, and I really enjoyed it. I fell in love with that process of putting things up and finding different sources and putting them together. And I turned that for myself into an artistic process more than a design tool."

When asked about her artistic inspirations, Fiyin said: "Style-wise, it would be Deborah Roberts; she makes collages as well and she talks a lot about identity and childhood, as well as Chantel Walker, she’s amazing too.

"I also like Seán Hillen, he's an Irish collage artist and makes really beautiful things. I think he uses postcards and stuff (like that) but his work always turns out really beautiful."

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'Maybe if I hold my head back' by Fiyin Oluokon.

Explaining about whether or not she ever receives the classic 'lightbulb moment', or whether she searches long and hard for inspiration, Fiyin had this to say: "It's a bit of both. I try to feed my creative side but (at the same time) I go to museums a lot. I have lots of photography books, andI love album covers, I'm always looking at records and stuff like that.

"I am definitely looking out for things, but at the same time, I try to keep my ears tuned in to what people are saying, because people say interesting things… there's interesting ways people talk or different phrases that they use and that can turn into something visual as well. But it's very rare that I get a 'eureka' moment."

One intriguing feature of Fiyin’s work is how she sometimes incorporates poetry into or alongside her collages.

She explained: "Sometimes I start with a poem, so it's usually just me detailing my thoughts or getting some kind of theme. A lot of the time my poetry is quite fragmented, so it translates well (into a visual collage)."

As for her poetry inspirations, Fiyin admits that she doesn’t have any in particular, although she is a self-described 'huge music fan', particularly hip-hop and rap music: "I listen a lot to GZA, especially his album 'Liquid Swords', and also Elucid: he talks about identity and growing up in New York, poverty and, you know, being a Black man in New York.”

Fiyin also explained that she uses Photoshop to aid her in crafting her artwork, and often stumbles across images online: "(There are) a few websites that I go to frequently and then I use Photoshop, I put it in there and, print it out and put it up and put it back into Photoshop. It's a cyclical process."

Elaborating further on her creative process, she said: "Sometimes if I know exactly what I'm doing, then one art piece would only take me a couple of hours.

"It doesn’t feel like a super long process, I never notice how long it can take… sometimes I start a piece and then, suddenly, I look out and it’s dark outside!"

As for why she thinks collages are so appealing, Fiyin said: "Overall, I actually don't know! For me, I guess I just enjoy the process.

"I try to make art that I like more so than art for other people, but sometimes other people do like it and it kind of is in the back of your mind as well.

"I try to make aesthetically pleasing things, but I also don’t want to water it down; if I’m trying to get across a certain message, about race, politics or society, I wouldn't try to water that message down to make it more appealing.

"But at the same time, I would hope that the visual aspect attracts people… and sometimes, a spade is just a spade!"

Lastly, when asked about potential future projects, Fiyin said: "I recently did some spoken word and that was fun, so I might do that again."

'Keys to this Castle' by Fiyin Oluokon.