My creative practice is spiritual, joyful and intuitive. Drawing inspiration from the land, mythology, ritual and oral history traditions, I explore personal and collective stories and the implications of symbolic power. I have a deep love and respect for the earth and work towards a post-capitalist world in which sustainable care for our communities, rest and love are prioritized.
Photo by Kaixiang Zhang
bio
Gesiye works with individuals and communities using performance, tattooing, installation and image-making to explore embodiment and storytelling as forms of liberation. Based between Port of Spain, Trinidad & London, UK, her creative practice is rooted in themes of connection and belonging, and examines the sociocultural symbols and power dynamics that impact our relationships with self, state and land.
Gesiye was raised in a Nigerian-Trinidadian family with a deep connection to divination and somatic healing practices. Her experiences as a Black, queer woman and her work in social and environmental activism inform her creative process.
She has shown work and performed at a number of international spaces, including FiveMyles, the Barbican, Express Newark, Alice Yard, WhiteBox Gallery and the National Museum of Trinidad & Tobago. Gesiye has been awarded creative grants and commissions from institutions such as Express Newark, The National Museum of Wales, CATAPULT and The Global Fund for Women. Her work has been featured by the BBC, The Guardian TT, Newsday and Whitehot Magazine and published in two books, Undead: (Inter)(in)animation, Feminisms, and the Art of War and Human Marks: Tattooing in Contemporary Art.