A woman of several professional identities, Salome Coker originally practiced as a lawyer before taking an interest in arts. Early explorations in art-making soon blossomed into a cohesive envelopment of painting, printmaking, drawing and performance among others. She is a self-taught visual artist and photographer, having spent many years of self-directed study researching art historical movements and printmaking techniques. Coker‘s ongoing preoccupation in archives and memory often take shape as painting and printmaking. Her recent series The Long Way Home (2022), is a collection of oil paintings and photographic screen prints inspired by family photographs. This archive provides fertile ground on which she integrates genealogy, memory and migration.

An ardent devotee of rich ochres and reddish pigments, her bold visual language channels energy from the streets of cities like Lagos, Salvador de Bahia and London where the artist has lived. The long way home marks a departure from her usual colour palette to more muted tones following the death of her father in 2021. The colours in this series are intentionally muted to express the essence of the memories she has reconstructed from inherited photographs. Salome Coker has participated in numerous group exhibitions including the New English Art Cub (NEAC) Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London (2022), Sonsoles Print Studio Group Exhibition, Gerald Moore Gallery, London (2021) and the Westfield Black Emerging Artist Exhibition, London (2020).”