By Ferdinand Ekechukwu
Sonma Chinye Nwoko, a talented 13-year-old visual artist officially launched her creative storytelling journey with her debut solo art exhibition titled UNBOUND. The landmark exhibition, featuring an intimate evening of art works took place last Sunday at Soto Gallery, a vibrant cultural hub in Ikoyi, Lagos.
Billed as “the first chapter” of her creative storytelling, UNBOUND offers a close look at Sonma’s artistic growth, illustrating the transition from a single spark of an idea into fully realized masterpieces, showcasing 60 works inspired by nature, emotions, and experiences of young people.
UNBOUND captures an important beginning: her journey as an artist in Nigeria and beyond. All to her idea, Sonma’s solo exhibition bears significant to her creative ingenuity. According to her, the exhibition explores the pressure young people face to conform and encourage self-awareness and creative expression.
Through a mixture of layered techniques, bold brushstrokes, and deliberate visual narratives, Sonma uses her art to reflect a journey of faith, confidence, and resilience. Through her art, she experiments with visual storytelling and explores the relationship between memory, emotions and the world around and within her.
As one of the youngest contemporary voices entering the thriving Nigeria art landscape, Sonma’s debut marks a significant moment for the teen creative and the next generation of West African fine art.
Reflecting on her works, Sonma also encouraged young creatives to keep practicing and step outside their comfort zones and develop their talents despite setbacks. “I really think that this work was based on nature and more like feelings expressing into my life for younger people to understand that life is not only about just seeing the difficult things,” she added.
Speakers at the event commended the teen artist for the amazing body of work and urged parents to recognise and support their children’s creative talents, and encouragement that can build confidence and open pathways to careers in the creative industry.
Given the necessary encouragement to nurture her gift, the artist’s mom, Dr. Fejiro Chinye Nwoko, recalled Sonma’s art journey. “Right from when she was in primary school, her teacher told me that her art tells story that she is not just drawing, and we should pay attention to it,” she noted.
“So, for you I think it’s to really look at your child and see is there something in there that you can work with. And I think that what helped us to help her was our science and structured background.
“So, it’s not wrong to think science is structured. The arts also can be structured. So we were able to encourage her and put all the supporting structures that she needed for this to come up. But she has something and I just knew at a point that we can’t just ignore the gift that she has. We need to let it shine.”