Artist Bio

Amarachi Odimba is a Nigerian multidisciplinary artist and third-year MFA candidate at Florida State University. She holds a B.Sc. in Geology and Mining from Enugu State University of Science and Technology, which informs her exploration of identity, place, and belonging. She has participated in workshops, residencies, and exhibitions locally and internationally, including her second solo exhibition, BE/LONGING, at Urevbu Contemporary, Memphis (2022). A recipient of the 2025 HSF Excellence in the Visual Arts Award, Africa Technology and Creative Group Fund (2020) and the Art Moves Africa (AMA) grant (2015) for her residency EDUFUNCTION at Nafasi Art Space, Tanzania, Amarachi’s works are in private collections in many parts of the world.

Artist Statement

I am compelled by the ideas of movement, belonging, and boundaries, and I often reflect on how these concepts shape my artistic practice. My work shifts fluidly between soft sculptural forms and two-dimensional surfaces, between representation and abstraction, and between painting and techniques rooted in craft. This exploration emerges from both personal and collective experiences as a Nigerian, particularly in relation to the power and limitations of my passport, which influence my ability to move across the world and inform the complexities of my lived experience. By layering history, cultural symbolism, and interpersonal relationships, I aim to illuminate the nuanced experiences of myself and my community, and the ways we navigate identity, mobility, and belonging.

As a figurative painter, I frequently employ everyday objects as both material and metaphor. One such object is the plaid tote bag, which exists in various forms worldwide. Beyond serving as a personal travel essential, this bag carries collective memory in Nigeria, where it became closely associated with migration in the 1980s. In my practice, I reimagine these bags through the lens of traditional textile techniques, creating new intersections between mobility, identity, and material memory.

I transform these bags to evoke the structure of woven textiles, integrating my painted figures through stitching to create folds that serve as sites of tension and metaphorical landscapes through which these individuals traverse. Through the use of embellishments, I reflect on contemporary perceptions of movement, creating ambiguity that simultaneously celebrates resilience, interrogates the performative façade of adaptation, and highlights the aspirations of those navigating lives in flux.