Maddox Gallery is pleased to present What Lies Within Us, a group exhibition featuring works by Bradley Theodore, Dawn Okoro, Daniel Onguene, Boris Anje, Joblek, Daniel Ametefe Kukubor, Jil Mandeng, Louise Howard, Isshaq Ismail and Jack Kabangu.

The way we think about representation revolves around our preconceptions on age, nationality, sex, social status and even geographical boundaries. The notion of identity within the frameworks of our culture has to do as much with the future as it does with the past. What Lies Within Us exists as a visual contemplation of the question which always lingers in conversations on the philosophy of life: ‘Who am I?’.

In a society where people from different countries gather and share common cultures, feeling entangled within the clash of internal and external concepts dictating our identity is a common phenomenon. Feelings of displacement, issues of belonging and concerns about the self are the reason for collective anxieties and disassociation with who we think we are supposed to be. In this exhibition, we witness the way these artists express their internal monologue. Does culture inform identity, or do masses of identities constitute cultural trends?

From self-portraiture to societal representations, as well as more abstract depictions of culture, What Lies Within Us places us into the intimate investigations of these artists’ self-exploratory journeys. As we observe their diverse approaches to the idea of cultural identities, we think about our perception of others in the present moment. Much like keeping a diary, we all participate in a wider discourse on how shared experiences influence the self – and What Lies Within Us provides us with a new page, onto which we record an inclusive way of seeing.