Alex Idoko - Painting with Fire
Alex Peter Idoko is an artist well-known for his techniques of pyro fusionism; he manipulates delicate flames on wood to enhance his paintings. This innovative performance is created with razors, charcoal, fire and sandpaper at hand, as Idoko carves surreal figures into a wooden canvas to explore identity and an array of emotions in every scene. Mirroring his own vulnerabilities, he paints of everyday scenes from walking across a road (Indecisive Timeline 2024) to sleeping (Uncomfortable Beauty 2023), seeking solace in the silence of art. Idoko explores the complexity of human nature through rich, monochromatic images, styled to use a mixture of surrealism and hyperrealism.
Residing in Nigeria, Idoko explores the diverse culture in Africa through fleeting expressions and cultural clothes. His focus is on the representation of black identity; “based on African realities, the freedom, advocacy for change, and solutions to challenges”, working to reclaim the narrative for African people in art. Telling stories of heritage and cultural preservation, Idoko utilises this style of art to capture the complexities of human nature. Historically, black people have often been stereotyped as slaves and servants, contrasting Idoko’s depiction of black people to be individuals with agency and autonomy, offering the opportunity to ‘rebrand’ the narrative of typically inferior ethnic groups.
Summer group exhibition, ‘Gathered At Dawn’ presents Idoko’s pieces, ‘Sovereign Stance’ and ‘Ochefije’s Moment’, which were created with a combination of fire and acrylic canvas. Documenting behind-the-scenes footage of his process of pyro fusionism on Instagram and YouTube, Idoko’s aim is to showcase the value of African heritage. Idoko views art as a “language that people can read, as long as you connect and interpret your heart, people will always understand that language”, and so these artworks represent a language we can all relate to and interpret in different ways. Alex Idoko uses pyro fusionism as a performance meant to be shared to a global community, thus, by attracting an audience on social media through real-time videos, this has enabled him to gain the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and the Art Nation People’s Choice Award in 2022.
Idoko’s artwork of Black acceptance, proudness and freedom reclaims the story for African men and women, inspiring a generation of change to follow as he uses the dangerous tool of fire to enhance stories of grief, shame, joy, frustration and glory.
Pioneering pyrofusion: reclamation of identity through fire & form – Palatinate
An Inferno Starts With a Single Flame: Pyrography by Alex Peter Idoko | Beautiful Bizarre Magazine