Ijeoma Ogwuegbu was diagnosed with fibromyalgia — a condition where one’s brain interprets all stimuli it receives as pain — which made it almost impossible for her to do the things she would have normally done because they required more movement and energy than she could afford.
When Ijeoma’s condition caused her to switch paths from a successful twenty years writing career to be an artist in 2020 — which started as something to pass time with — she had no intention of doing it to make money.
Her pieces, which range from 2 feet canvases to 6 feet canvases in size, are mostly acrylic on canvas while exploring other media. Some of these paintings are born from what Ijeoma thinks are the many layers of the worlds that are not fully understood – and trying to explore what those spaces look and feel like.
Through her works, Ijeoma also manifests her feminist ideologies which explore the trauma that women go through and having to live with this trauma.
A lot of times the pain, as a result of the fibromyalgia, overwhelms her and she has to find comfortable positions to paint.
Her work as an artist gives her an outlet for navigating the pain from her condition and dealing with unresolved trauma.
Ijeoma’s pieces can be purchased via her Flutterwave online store.