In carving a niche for ourselves, identity is everything. The current social climate we live in has witnessed an intense quest for authenticity and when selecting a social media username, we find that we all want to get it right, we canvas our brains for the one name that is an extension of ourselves and can remain unique in itself. This phenomenon is challenging, made more so by the millions of existing social media identities.
In December 2017 at an art festival at the Sarius Palmetum Botanical Garden, I came across a young reserved female, a year later I discovered she made art using the pseudonym Grimhunny.I watched as she struggled with building a community a day at a time, remaining steadfast and relentless through it all.
In 2022 she had an art studio at the center of Abuja with an incredible view. By the end of the year, she made a heart wrenching decision to close this studio and took a much needed hiatus.
This was an intense bittersweet period for her devotees, beneath the underlying support many secretly hoped she would find her way back, some day In a world that was ready and waiting for her.
Mid 2023 welcomed Corja of Corja studios, the same artist, a different Studio, different name and there were budding questions in the hearts of those she left behind.
The aficionados in the Grimhunny space have a healthy curiosity siphoned by the newness of it all.
Andrew Mcmahon an American singer and songwriter, began a solo project called Jack’s Mannequin (a rock band formed in 2004), after being the frontman for Something Corporate (a California band formed in 1998). In 2013, he went by the moniker ‘Andrew Mcmahon in the Wilderness’ a fine empirical sketch on reinventing oneself, rebranding or finding new identities.
Long standing lovers of Corja are a cocktail of excitement and terror which is normal. They question everything in a bid to know if any part of her remains, which is the true beauty of it all, ‘the uncertainty’.
This calls for a deep dive in our memories of the girl behind the new Corja studios and all she has relayed should be expected.
Corja is multi talented, in 2019 she made about 75 percent of her wardrobe and had a pop up shop for her now retired fashion brand ‘Sable drive’. She had a ginger and white American shorthair cat called Hunny, who inspired a large chunk of her art and her journey into vibrant colors and whimsical landscapes. She wrote a couple of essays and is writing a secret book she intends to publish just for herself.
Corja is a third child whose pedigree stems from a small tribe in Adamawa, and over the course of her education she has lived in Abuja, Maryland USA and Israel.
She has a vast knowledge and appreciation of Music. In her eccentric playlist you will find Nena’s 99 Luftballons, Mother Mother ‘Ghosting’, and over a dozen songs by Fleetwood Mac.
She completed her education in Israel where she majored in Marketing and Political communications. She worked in a radio station in Israel during her studies. Corja has written poetry in English and Hebrew.
In 2018 she played a pivotal role in the Tamerri Music and Art festival which was the biggest festival in Abuja at the time.
She and I have had a number of sleepovers where we made art props into the night, watching that 70’s show, Lady Bird and more often Horror movie marathons.
Corja loves tote bags.
She has loved and lost maybe a little bit more than the girl next door and continues to choose love despite the hard losses.
Pretty Ugly Things (PUT) studio, Grizo (the sundown DJ), and the space, Mambaah cafe have been a source of light and warmth in her journey navigating the art scene in Abuja.
Her current reading list features; the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Juniot Diaz (a favorite author of hers) and Alka Joshi’s ‘The Henna Artist’ she also indulges in a bit of poetry by the likes of the Poet Carol Ann Duffy.
Corja notes that her first love was Vincent Van Gogh, she truly believes in making art for vanity sake.
For the Early part of 2024, I would say expect podcasts, digital art, prints, totes and more than anything expect art inspired by the inner Inferno of the soul.
There are a few things about Corja that will stay strong and fervent, these are her obsession with Naomi Campbell, being Pisces, she is an incurable romantic, her love for good food and being around water. Her bond with her sister is incredible and strong and she will always be inspired by her brother, the world/space in which she lives in and the art materials accessible.
Join Corja on her ever eclectic artistic journey.
Keep up with her on IG @Corja.studios
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