James Okore

My name is James Okore, and I am a contemporary interdisciplinary artist, specializing in portrait paintings evoking vibrantly impacting colourful brushstrokes with obscure surroundings in the styles of Realism / Surrealism, juxtaposing reality with mind-bending environments to challenge the perception of the viewer, which shines a light on the many experiences I’ve had in my life, thus far.

This art journey of mine began at a very young age, where I was involved in a motor-vehicle accident. I was at the edge of the road, after a van made full collision with me, which then catapulted me up into the air like a stunt character.

Left in an unconscious state, my mother shrieked a powerfully painful shriek, and many bystanders watched and called for the ambulance. With seconds turning into minutes, and minutes turning into what felt like hours I was rushed to the hospital and hanging on to dear life as it was told that I would have a 50/50 chance of survival. With the support of family (who are very religious, and would constantly keep me in their prayers and visit me – while being watched over by God and His Heavenly angels), and the intensive carefully procedural work of the medical team, I lived to see another day (and would have to embark on this new life, as the accident had changed my life forever).

After waking up from a coma lasting several weeks, in a hospital bed, with tubes and casts, very basic things that most take for granted, I would have to relearn all over again – and I was determined (standing / sitting, walking / running, talking, eating, strategies to make remembering things a little easier, using my hands again to pick up, grab, or hold things, and everything imaginable).

Through this traumatic ordeal, part of my rehab and therapy included Music and Art, and that’s where I discovered my calling and passion for Art – something that I could learn skillfully to communicate in a creative way with the outside world. Normally introverted, Art is what shaped my world, and has given me the confidence and courage to speak my mind, and to have a voice to share my thoughts and experiences. Art is something that brings me great joy, and is something that I cannot imagine life without (it’s unheard of). Just the thought of prepping a canvas, mixing primary, secondary, and tertiary colours, doing an underpainting, and gradually building the layers gets me excited every time, and it’s something that I actually enjoy and can have fun with the process.

Driven and determined, I spent many, many years getting through school, practicing art, and you could say that if you saw me today that I’ve made a full recovery (with the exception of some subtle effects from my accident). What I have is called an Acquired Brain injury (or an ABI), and something I will have to life with for the rest of my life.

My mission is to give families, friends, and neighbours time capsules of paint on canvases of many moments in time, so that they are able to be able to take the time to contemplate and reminisce over their loved ones who are captured with great attention to detail and loose gestural brushstrokes, while greatly impacting them in an emotionally positive way, in turn bringing about joy while making their day (because every moment counts, and you never really know what can happen, and when).

Through the many years of practicing art (in addition to going to school for art), a common theme that comes up in my works is my fascination with human beings – this notion of identity, while connecting and networking amongst others. After my accident, many treated me differently (“special”). Yes, I’ve pushed through many leaps and bounds, and now I see the world in a different light (filled with shapes and colours). Many times, I’ve questioned my identity: “Who is James?”, and “How does James fit into society?” (with many works focused on self-portraits of myself throughout the years). This has evolved over time into exploring my identity (as a Person of Colour), through celebrities who also have disabilities (more specifically, autoimmune diseases).

More than anything, I want to be able to capture those moments for families, friends, and neighbours, to commemorate connections and relationships that they’ve had with other’s and loved ones in their lives – to shed a light on the notion of identity of the people that we’ve grown up with, and know. This is something that is very important to me because through my own experience, I know the emotions Art evokes and can have a great impact on someone in a life changing way. By my own example of getting another chance at life, and going through this transformational experience, I just want for my Art to empower and inspire making a difference and a change for the better, to drive passionate, the same way it has done for me.