Born in Nigeria and migrating to the UK as a child, her practice probes the notion of belonging and is informed by early childhood memories of storytelling and contemporary African literature. Ugonna is both intuitive and experimental in her approach and considers the creating of alternate and fantastical worlds, as a way of building on the rich legacy and tradition of storytelling.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ugonna has been working on a series of works which depict imaginary holiday landscapes and snapshots of surreal encounters. The Jerwood Bursary will support further research into themes of myth and storytelling in contemporary visual arts within an international and transnational context and provide her with specialist mentorship in developing and establishing her professional artistic practice.
