Finding home, loss, healing through art

An exhibition by artist Opeyemi Olukotun opened last week at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba, inviting audiences into an intimate exploration of immigration, identity, grief and hope.

Titled “Through My Window, There Is a View,” the debut Nigerian solo show reflects Olukotun’s journey of adapting to a new life in Brandon after leaving Lagos, Nigeria, a transition he describes as both beautiful and deeply challenging.

The show is about how complex it is to find a home, to leave home, and how home is family, how home is community,” the gallery’s artistic director Lucie Lederhendler said.

“People like Opeyemi, who bring others together with such courage, are what make a place a home,” she said.

The exhibition features a series of portraits of immigrants, many of them Brandon locals, captured in moments of deep thought and stillness.

The works, painted in warm earth tones and vibrant primaries, explore the mental and emotional weight of migration, displacement, and the search for belonging, Olukotun told the Sun.

“This show is all about finding a place,” he said. “When I arrived in Brandon, I found myself starting from zero, despite having years of experience in Nigeria. It was a mental struggle. You plan for six months, and it feels like you planned nothing.”

The adjustment to Canada’s climate was one shock. “From plus-30 degrees C in Lagos to minus 40 degrees C in Brandon, it didn’t feel real,” he said. “It was depressing, honestly. But I bottled it up, like many immigrants do. This show gave me space to open that bottle.”

Olukotun’s path to becoming a professional artist was unexpected.

“I originally studied science,” he explained in a post-show interview. “I loved physics and computers. I was admitted to study chemistry, which I did not like. But I saw art students drawing, and I felt something shift.”

He secretly switched his major to fine art, only informing his father after the change. “At first, he wasn’t happy. But he saw how committed I was, and he supported me fully. I’m forever grateful.”

Today, Olukotun paints primarily with acrylics, creating texture-rich, emotionally charged pieces with subtle colour harmonies. “My technique blends emotion and story; it’s how I speak when words fail.”

The show also reveals a more recent layer of personal loss: the death of Olukotun’s younger brother in December 2024. One of the portraits in the exhibition features a selfie of the two brothers, created in the aftermath of the loss.

“I was completely off painting,” he said. “That moment changed everything, even the theme of this show. But this painting became part of my healing.”

A minute of silence was held during the exhibition’s opening in honour of his late brother.

For Lederhendler, the exhibition’s themes resonated deeply.

“Our immigrant stories felt so similar,” she said. “The cold. The loneliness. The starting over. Opeyemi’s work reminds us how much strength it takes to build a life in a new place.”

Olukotun echoed that sentiment. “I’m glad I did this show here, where I now live. I’m overwhelmed by the support, people came from Winnipeg, Virden, and right here in Brandon. This isn’t just about me, it’s about us.”

“Through My Window, There Is a View” is on display at the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba until Sept. 6. Admission is free.

» aodutola@brandonsun.com

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