Yellow Is the New Black

Yellow Is the New Black is a solo exhibition at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery in London. Its title speaks to the colour that runs through the paintings and to the visibility of the people within them. A woman stands at a doorway, her hands pressed against the frame. We do not know what waits on the other side, but the moment before she steps through belongs to her.

The figures come from photographs Ken has taken of friends, family and members of the Black immigrant community. He begins with poured colour, often responding to music in the studio, then builds the figures and their surroundings in more precise detail. The images hold everyday moments alongside the uncertainty and possibility of moving between places.

Many of the paintings are made on the reverse of handwoven Akwete cloth from Igboland. The woven patterns remain visible on the other side of the fabric, carrying the knowledge and labour of its makers into each work. Love and Survival reflects on a relationship strained by distance; Take Off pictures the artist climbing above the city with wings on his back. Together the works recognise the strength, beauty and complexity of the communities that shaped him.

The exhibition also honours the journeys people make to find safety, work and room to grow. Tickets, hands and shifting backgrounds recur across the paintings. Ken treats these experiences with care, while allowing joy and imagination to have a place beside uncertainty.