Better Dey Come

Johansson Projects presents Better Dey Come, a solo exhibition by Nimah Gobir. Combining painting, photo transfer, fabric, and embroidery, Gobir blends memories across time and geography by drawing inspiration from her Nigerian heritage and upbringing in California. Peppered with personal ephemera such as handed-down cloth and family photo albums, Gobir’s work is rooted in domesticity and connection, sifting through the nuances of Black identity while referencing her specific familial experiences. Utilizing quilting cottons, and at times more ceremonial African wax prints, Gobir patches together a synthetic family history that is both widely recognizable and utterly specific. Compounded with the incorporation of personal photographs from the 1980s and 90s into her painted interiors, her work interrogates the nature of portraiture, memory, and nostalgia through intimate representations of family life. Gobir explores these thorough lines across generations, finding resonance among her current daily rituals, childhood, and family’s past: braiding hair, sitting for a meal, washing dishes, posing for a group picture. Her mixed-media work collapses time and space, leaving the viewer in a kaleidoscope of memories that diffuse into the present moment.

Better Dey Come runs from September 13th to October 18th with an artist reception on Thursday, October 2nd from 5-6:30 pm.
For all inquiries, contact Johansson Projects at 510-444-9140 or [email protected]