Today we’d like to introduce you to Jo Li.
Hi Jo, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I draw from my lived experience as an African-American woman of Nigerian descent. As an immigrant to the U.S., I was confronted for the first time with racism. In Nigeria, there was no language for “minority.” Blackness was the default. In America, I had to learn the history of racism and marginalization.
Before I arrived in the U.S., much of what I saw of African-Americans had been filtered through media curated and exported to reinforce diminishing stereotypes. At first, I internalized these portrayals. But as I began to uncover the truth of our history, I recognized them as my kin: members of the diaspora, fellow travelers in a strange land.
That experience led directly to my artistic purpose. I awakened to the understanding that media and art are tools of narrative control. They shape, distort, and, at times, they can even restore perception. That realization became the foundation of my work.
Imagine a world without slavery, misogyny, or queer erasure. A world where history wasn’t rewritten by the victors but expanded by the visionaries. What would art from that world look like? What would it feel like to see it?
I can’t physically bring you work from that parallel universe, but I can create it with my hands. That is my power as an artist. My figurative oil paintings are imagined from a timeline where women were never diminished and the historical contributions of people of color were never erased. These are portraits from the past that could have been, and from futures still possible. And so my work insists on presence. It insists on being seen.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No path to success is ever smooth. Turbulence and potholes are just a natural part of any journey. The most important thing is that one keeps moving forward.
I think the biggest struggle for me is pushing back against categorisation of my work as “black art,” or being told by gallerists that my work is “too ethnic.”
Till this day I still don’t know what the latter classification means, and I often wonder why male artists don’t automatically get the subcategorised as “male art” or why works of European-American painters don’t get categorised as “white art.”
There’s an odd implication there that works created by European males are the standard, while the works of other artists become sub-categorised.
My work is largely centered around WOMEN. We make up roughly 50% of the human population. My work also largely depicts people of colour. Which last I checked was roughly 85% of the global population of humans. It’s fair to say that is not a subcategory or minority work by any stretch of the imagination.
It’s been an uphill battle of having my work rejected because gallerists don’t believe my work would be relatable to collectors. This has only led me to forge my own path both stateside and oversees, giving talks and exhibitions worldwide that have been remarkably well received.
Time is the current that pushes me steady on my path. It is, I believe, in favour of the direction I’m headed.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Well, as stated above, I am an artist. I’ve always said to be an artist has very little to do with what the artist actually created and everything to do with the mind. Think of an artist as a sort of tree, and their work being their fruit.
I’m largely an oil painter first and foremost. I enjoy capturing beauty and illustrative works that engage the eye and still the mind, and nothing arrests the mind like beauty.
I also write and have published two books so far. One on Simulation Hypothesis titled So You’re Living in a Simulation, and the other on productivity and rest titled The 7 Habits of Master Procrastinators Who Somehow Manage To Survive (A Resistance Manual.)
I also produce and host a long standing podcast called So You’re Living in A Simulation, and I’m quite active on TikTok and Instagram with several videos having gone viral.
I’ve given talks on art and have coached as well.
I don’t really have a competitive mindset so I can’t answer the question of “what sets me apart from others,” but I’m most happy when after an exhibition, a talk or a video release, I get feedback that states I’ve helped changed a person’s perspective or made them feel better about themselves or their approach to life. I find that to be very rewarding.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
San Diego is by far one of the most beautiful cities on this planet. My favourite parts of the city are Del Mar, Torrey Pines Reserve, La Jolla Cove, and Point Loma by the bay.
I do believe the housing shortage crisis and the unhoused epidemic is something leadership must resolve and soon.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joliartist.com/portal
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joli.artist/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@JoliArtist
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@joli.artist
Image Credits
Main Photo and Studio Photo- OfStardustandEarth
Event Photos- GSLondon
