Emmanuel Unaji

Emmanuel Unaji was born in 1994 and lives and works between London and Kent. He did his foundation in London College of Contemporary Arts, and graduated earlier this year with first class honours from Kingston University London where he studied BA (Hons) Fine Art.

He is one of the most acclaimed multimedia artists of his generation & CEO of design Company Unaji&Co. “Unaji combines his knowledge of fashion design with painting, drawing and collage. His style tends to rebel against the norms of fashion illustration as he boldly re-creates iconic fashion shoots in his own way” wrote GQ magazine for the Nigerian artist whose work has been awarded with the Ravensbourne Incubation Lite Award in 2019 and by MTV Breaks Artist in 2017. 

Wellcome to Chromatica Magazine, thank you for joining us, How are you? (where are you, what are you working on and how you are coping with the pandemic)

I’m blessed thank you for having me, I’m currently at my home studio. The Pandemic was extremely difficult mentally at first as a few major collaborations & commissions understandably fell through due to the global crisis. However it’s proven to be an invaluable blessing in disguise, completely shifting my perspective on life and frivolous endeavours. My art practice, business and overall capacity have evolved, building resilience in ways that were known but not yet leveraged. 

I’m currently working on translating my multimedia practice into a wider range of mediums such as performance, film & music. Few projects that I’m excited about are the forthcoming UNAJI&Co Fashion collection, new video Documentary-series and executive music production. 

Can you please describe your aesthetic and style of work?

I’d say my aesthetic is Quintessential British Fashion meets 1960s civil rights meets art school. 

The foundation of my creative perspective formed from questioning the proposed aesthetic of the Sistine Chapel in Rome at the age of 10 (2005). So therefore I find my style to be inherent to debating aesthetics & narratives rather than accepting bourgeoise constructs. 

My style is also subversively expressive like Jazz, it intentionally crosses boundaries of race & class. 

At what age did you start drawing and when did you decide to study arts? 

I started drawing/painting from about 5, I’ll always remember a framed abstract painting of what I imagined God to look like. Art tutors throughout my early school years heavily encouraged me to explore the arts because I demonstrated a distinct attentiveness to creative processes.

I decided to study fine art in 2015, after taking a year out of studying Fashion to model and get my portfolio together. It was a pivotal decision gaining industry insight which has informed my journey and practice till today.

What are your main influences? Which artists have informed your work?

My biggest influence is my family - My mother has such a unique aristocratic elegance, my sister is intellectually politically very intuitive and my brother is a creative genius (laughs) - I’m surrounded by constant conversation that is educational, motivational & progressive. 

Historical figures such as Malcom X and Darcus Howe heavily inform my work in addition to Fine Artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Steve McQueen, Yves Klein, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Micheal Craig Martin.

Musicians such as Fela Kuti, James Brown and Miles Davis are also big influences.

The fashion industry and more specifically branding are integral parts of your narrative, what messages are you seeking to convey?

I find the optics of artificial social constructs fascinating. In my opinion all industry’s mimic fashion’s inherent masquerade.

True or false, good or bad, Industry’s only concern is profit ? Understandably so from an economic stance but questionable at times from an ethical stance. From observation one could suggest that dichotomy warps people’s belief systems, in ways if unchecked create polarising artificial realities.

Media is the pivotal tool used to manufacture society’s consent of anything. Fashion, music, politics, economics you name it!

To me branding is the ultimate production mechanism. How a human presents them-self is the original most primitive mode of communication and shouldn’t be underestimated. I encourage people in fashion but more so in everyday life to question how they brand themselves. Mimicking trends is a hollow practice, my experience in fashion informed me that all people are unique in their own way. I strongly believe difference should be celebrated not feared.

You often utilise photographs in your work, what are the criteria/ what inspires you in a photograph?

I agree with French painter Paul Delaroche that “Painting is Dead”. Obsolete to be specific. I’m drawn to photography’s power to instantly document a subject, furthermore it’s inability to control the relationship between the image’s proposed context and the subject’s reality. That potential inaccuracy of communicating the subject’s reality intrigues me, especially once that image is accompanied by media reports. 

Photography & film are the indispensable devices of Propaganda. I like treating each subject as the protagonist of their own life contrasting against social opinions of their existence/history/reality. That subsequently informs the composition, colour palette & overall tone of my interpretation.

You have also created your own sustainable fashion brand Unaji, what is the concept behind it?  (Also please provide info on how we can purchase)

Yes we do indeed! UNAJI&Co is a creative consultancy company, which specialises in sustainable fashion, arts & project management. 

Fashion to us is the ultimate branding vehicle for communications. Our concept follows our real life journey as brothers, artists and entrepreneurs. The clothing is malleable as we mould & adapt it to our company’s voice. Our approach to the design process is more unorthodox than traditional fashion norms.

Pieces will be available to purchase online via www.unajico.com 

We’ll be releasing our Lookbook early December,

Also online & in store at www.rnldn.com - Box Park Shoreditch from Dec 7th - 13th

Having achieved so much already what has been the biggest highlight of your career so far and what are your future plans?

Thank you! Ah that’s a tough choice, My career highlight has to be between modelling for Gucci or British GQ. My imagination grew after interacting with establishments of such magnitude & cultural relevance. What comes after the glass ceiling - Innovation! My art changed after those moments, my entire practice became a performative production. 

UNAJI&Co is an entire stage, each campaign, product, post is part of an overall narrative - a socioeconomic play as you will. My work represents an aristocratic Nigerian heritage, communicated through a sophisticated multimedia practice that operates at the intersection of commerciality and culture. My future plans are to increase the scale of the productions, collaborations and partnerships. 

What is your motto in life?

In life I have a number of motto’s but my main one at this moment in time would have to be - Tend to your Ideas like farming, water your crops, reap what you sow & harvest what you grow. 

For more info and updates visit www.emmanuelunaji.com and www.unajico.com

You can follow Emmanuel on Instagram @eman_unaji