Artist Joy Yamusangie’s autobiographical practice knows no bounds

“You know that saying, ‘Jack of all trades master of none’, I feel like I want that to be the title for this,” says artist Joy Yamusangie with a smile, as we discuss the long-winding processes their work involves, and the many artistic forms it manifests in too. 

Over the past few years, Joy’s work has meandered through visual techniques and disciplines, culminating in an artistic practice which includes poetry, illustration and typography – to much admiration from both illustration and artistic-leaning communities. These forms can then be found gracing a canvas or a print, a T-shirt or a ceramic pot and soon, within film too. Vast in their ability to find mediums of expression, Joy’s work jumps between disciplines because, at the root of it all, are Joy’s personal thoughts and feelings, planting the seed for whatever the work may grow into. 

The idea of working in a creative role first became a possibility for Joy while at college in north London, where “just having a really good creative art department made me think ‘I can actually do this’,” they tell It’s Nice That. At first, Joy thought animation was the next creative step but, “there were so few people – there were two people, I was one of them – that they actually cut the course,” they explain. This led Joy to take a place on an illustration bachelor’s at Portsmouth, an accidental decision, but, “if that didn’t happen I wouldn’t be illustrating today, and I love illustration!” 

Despite illustration laying the foundation for much of Joy’s work, it was actually going against the traditional teachings of the medium that allowed them to develop a personal narrative: “I guess that when you study illustration, you’re taught to illustrate other people’s stories, other people’s dreams and visions,” they explain. “I think that when I was studying in Portsmouth, there was so much going on that I used my work as a diary to talk about all of the struggles I was going through. There was a lot of racism, just blatantly on the street, and I would use my illustration to document those stories. That how I started off talking about my life, and then I realised I don’t really have much else to talk about,” they say, between laughing. “And it’s close to me. I think that’s what makes my work me.” 

Moving back to London after their time in Portsmouth, Joy had a newfound appreciation for their childhood home. “I think it was a good experience to leave,” they tell us, “however, I would never live in Portsmouth.” Returning to the city in 2015, Joy arrived with the aim to become more active in the art scene, to find a new community after leaving their artist friends on the coast, and connect with “in particular, more black artists.” Taking to Instagram, “I met so many,” says Joy, who discovered artists, collectives and events, meeting those who “are now my friends, and I really feel like I’m part of something,” they explain. “There were loads, I just had to find them.” 

Aside from the fact that their works are, in themselves, brilliant, eye-opening reflections on life, social media has been instrumental in getting Joy’s work recognised in wider circles. This, too, is due to their open approach to the platform, describing it as feeling “like I’m posting to myself as an archive.” It’s a refreshingly natural approach to social media, but it’s also logical with Joy explaining how they’ll often return to their feed to remember – and then continue – a previous idea or piece. It also allows admirers to connect with Joy’s work and its ongoing process – sections of the artist’s feed display short videos of them at work – seeing the artist grow into one of the creatives they started to follow just a few years ago.

This then leads Joy to mention a flurry of other media they’ve been trying out too. Ceramics, following a collaboration with Freya Bramble Carter a few years ago, has wormed its way back into their practice. Currently working on a commission and learning techniques from Freya and her dad in their studio, it’s the act of learning a new process – albeit a hard one – which again ignites Joy in conversation. For instance, detailing the problematic material of plaster, Joy is just as pleased about their mistakes as their triumphs: “Plaster can make your work explode,” they chuckle, “but is also great, for like, everything.” Jumping again to another medium, Joy then unexpectedly adds sewing to the list of their creative talents: “I have got really into sewing – I’m bringing up all these different things! I’m not amazing at it, but my mum sews and so does my sister, so I want to improve my sewing skills,” explaining how sewing their own canvases has been the first step in introducing yet another craft to their practice.

Now a full time practising artist, Joy works out of their own studio in London, usually from a Tuesday to Saturday: “Sometimes I just don’t like working a Monday!” they laugh. Days are spent with mornings dedicated to admin – “there’s a lot of admin” – and afternoons are used to concentrate on research or making. In general, this works towards Joy’s process of seeing “myself working in series,” they explain. “I try to think of a project, or a theme, that I would like to do and flesh out the thing within that.” And as we have come to expect from the artist, what creative form these ideas may take knows no bounds.

Spotify Design is proud to sponsor It’s Nice That’s Ones to Watch 2020, championing a diverse and inclusive creative community. We’re a team of cross-disciplinary creatives who love to design experiences that make meaningful connections between listeners and artists. We’re committed to designing for tomorrow and to supporting future-facing creatives who are out to make an impact on the world.