Regarded as one of the leading British figurative artists of her generation, Labinjo is known for her large-scale paintings that explore identity and power, Blackness, race and belonging, community and storytelling. Her style is instantly recognisable for its bold colour, flattened space and patchwork-like surfaces. Using an angled flat brush to cut through paint, Labinjo’s figures are constructed from blocks of colour, reminiscent of collage.

Born to Nigerian parents and raised in Dagenham, East London, Labinjo describes her practice as ‘fundamentally about her British Nigerian heritage and what that experience means’. Her ongoing connection with Nigeria, with its cultural and social complexities, shapes her subjects and narratives, inviting viewers to experience the world through her diasporic lens. Labinjo’s practice follows a lineage of contemporary figurative art shaped by pioneering Black British artists including Sonia Boyce, Claudette Johnson and Lubaina Himid.

Opening on Saturday 7 February, A Place of Our Own showcases a new body of work, featuring friends of the artist. These large-scale portraits present frank, unapologetic poses that assert an acceptance of self, removed from performative nudity. Labinjo explains she was ‘thinking about belonging, feeling comfortable and taking up space’ when creating the series. Labinjo has long been drawn to self-portraits and the nude yet questioned where she fitted within this tradition; within A Place of Our Own, she carves out space in a genre that has historically excluded voices like hers.

Referencing art history’s nude conventions while foregrounding Black subjectivity, Labinjo positions the body as both personal and political. Her experience in Lagos, Nigeria where she often felt her body was heavily policed, sharpened her awareness of the cultural contradictions that both celebrate and restrict the female form.

This perspective informs Labinjo’s own depiction of the Black female nude. She presents them as a powerful form of resistance and frames the body as a political agent challenging patriarchal norms and cultural policing. Through the rejection of sexualisation, Labinjo celebrates imperfections as her nudes evoke intimacy and strength, offering visibility and empowerment within a genre where Black women have long been absent.

The series focuses on the sitter in their private domestic settings, either at home or in their studios where they feel comfortable, adding to the intimacy of the portrait. Marked by muted earth tones and simplified backgrounds, the paintings bring forth a sense of solitude and introspection. Playful details, such as the knee-high denim boots worn by one sitter whilst outstretched on their sofa, give an impression of the sitter’s personality as well as their relationship with the artist.

Whilst the female forms depicted reject sexuality and seek to empower in defiance of the male gaze, these moments of vulnerability and tenderness are juxtaposed by the appearance of sharp boots and high heels. Through these details, Labinjo explores the complexities of sexuality and reflects on how Black women’s bodies are often hypersexualised in mainstream media. 

Throughout A Place of Our Own, houseplant studies appear amongst Labinjo’s figurative works. A recurring motif in Labinjo’s work, inspired by Lucian Freud’s Interior with Plant, Reflection Listening (Self-Portrait) (1967-8), they evoke intimacy and care amongst these intimate depictions of the female body.

Rooted in the everyday and attentive to the politics of visibility, Labinjo’s bold paintings reclaim space, responding to the void in the depiction of Black female nudes within art history, not only by presenting them front and centre, but by doing so as a Black woman artist, an act that reclaims authorship and visibility in a space historically denied to both subject and artist. Through this act, Labinjo invites audiences to consider how bodies inhabit, resist and belong.

Councillor Chris Burden, Cabinet Member for City Development, Jobs and Skills, said: "Joy Labinjo’s work brings an extraordinary depth of insight, courage and creativity to Wolverhampton Art Gallery. *A Place of Our Own* is a powerful celebration of identity, belonging and visibility, and we are proud to host an exhibition that amplifies voices and stories too often overlooked in art history. Labinjo’s bold, intimate portraits invite all of us to reflect on how we inhabit space, how we see one another, and how art can challenge and reshape the world around us.”

Joy Labinjo: A Place of Our Own at Wolverhampton Art Gallery runs from Saturday 7 February until Monday 4 May. Wolverhampton Art Gallery is free to visit Monday to Saturday (10.30am to 4.30pm) and Sunday (11am to 4pm). Glaze café is open Monday to Saturday (10.30am to 4pm) and Sunday (11am to 3.30pm). For more information visit Wolverhampton Arts and Culture