Meet Jamal Ademola | Artist & Filmmaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jamal Ademola and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jamal, why did you pursue a creative career?
Someone once told me that they couldn’t date an artist. When I asked why? They said “Because artists are impractical, not living in reality” I responded ” You do realize that I’m an artist right? ” To which they reacted “Oh but you’re different”. I can only surmise that they felt this way because I was not starving at that particular moment. It’s complicated. In the western world dreams are nonsense, but in the indigenous world, dreams are wisdom. I suppose I am an unwitting investigator of dreams, curiously seeking to find the meaning in things. The arts has a way of forcing you to discover yourself, which becomes a reflection of the greater collective, society and culture to which we are all interconnected. This to me is a very spiritual practice. Re-embracing the ritual. In the natural world there is a balance of existence. Unseen realms that we lose sight of in modern western society. Alternative ways of being. Art allows space and time to cultivate your existence beyond established norms. Art allows you to explore these dimensions. I’m intrigued by the invisible and metaphysical. I could have become a scientist but It’s the creation and the authenticity of expression that I find most satisfying. I don’t know any other way to exist happily.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
How did you get to where you are today professionally?

Thank you. A long time ago, I went to art school for media arts & animation. I found myself storyboarding and animating television shows for a massive well known media conglomerate. Got laid off. Best thing that ever happened. I started a small design and animation studio in Atlanta. The market wasn’t there yet for what I wanted to do so we closed. Always had many interests — Film, Fine Art, Animation, Drawing, Photography, Painting, Dance, Performance and Writing. Moved to LA, chased money and got caught into the advertising world. I started directing and animating commercials. Found unhappiness. Listened to my soul’s whispers and dreams. I asked myself “How can I become the client?” “How can I make only the work I want to make?” Found expression. Sometimes I make films, sometimes I’m in front of the camera, most times I’m behind. Acting is something that I enjoy, but I don’t pursue it as a full-time career. Auteur theory is important to me. I have too many things I want to say. I do think all director’s should act. It’s good to feel the opposite side. It’s good to surrender control. I started making what some people call “Art” and exhibiting my work. Sought freedom. Found an artistic practice.

Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges?

Being an independent artist in the American, hyper-hierarchical, racial capitalist paradigm is probably one of the hardest things one could ever endeavor, but it’s also the most spiritually rewarding. You overcome by working really hard and making space for harmony, balance and self care.

Please tell us more about your art?

Thank you. I work across many mediums — whatever I feel best communicates my current inspirations and intentions. I’m not one for labels but at this current moment in time my artistic practice is best described as interdisciplinary. My work over the last five years has centered on Black and African Identity, Yoruba Mythology, Cosmology, Divine Feminine, Language, Migration, Love and Relationships and Mental health. Lately, I’ve been focused on making films and videos that are mixed-media, hybrid stories that include animation. I’m developing Film & Art projects that seamlessly communicate across a range media — painting, film, video, animation, poetry, and books. I’m currently developing a feature film and a television series. I’m also creating a body of work for a solo exhibition. Everything will be connected. A new visual language so to speak. Post-modernism, post-structuralism, the intellectualization of art is didactic. I’m interested in how art and storytelling can be used to create a better world? Healing and regenerative arts. How can the elevated feminine act as a transformative catalyst for divine creation? What is the masculine role in aiding and facilitating that? How does language and location construct our identity? What is the nature of reality? How do we balance modernity with the natural world? These are some of the questions I am currently engaged with while creating.

What you are most proud of or excited about?

I’m really excited about innovation and defying categories and labels. One of the rules of this world is you can’t be good at too many things. To that I simply whisper “Donald Glover”. I think artists are inherently multi-faceted. It’s capitalism that forces artists to specialize. You have to be easily defined for marketing purposes. Creativity is not about rules. It’s about experimentation and risk taking. You have to be curious and open to experience. You have to be open to failure. Capitalism does not like failure. It likes a sure thing. Something endlessly profitable. This is why we have terrible remakes and rehashed stories being told. This is why when something is successful, we endure a swarm of copies. No originality. Every now and then something special shines, and that’s really exciting. I’m ecstatic about the possibilities of a world that operates on a higher frequency. One that puts human beings and nature before profit.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
hmmmmmm. Los Angeles is vibrant, but I like the quiet spaces where you can hear yourself. I’m usually in the wilderness any chance I get. There is sublime beauty in California. In about two hours you have access to some of the most relaxing vistas and landscapes. It’s one of my absolute favorite things about the state. For Nature — Ojai, Joshua Tree, Idyllwild, Lake Gregory, and San Jacinto Mountains. For book stores I’d say — The Last Book Store, Artbook @ Hauser Wirth, and Hennesey + Ingalls. For Art, including museums and galleries —LACMA, California African American Museum, Blum & Poe, Band of Vices, Jeffrey Deitch, and Wonzimer, For Cinema — Landmark’s NuArt Theatre, Los Feliz 3 Theatre, American Cinematheque, Arclight Hollywood, which has now become a part of Regal Cinemas. For Culture, I love Leimert Park.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
All praises be to the invisible infinity that is presently composing us in our experience. I’d like to pay respect to our ancestors and the line of the divine. My known and unknown relatives in Nigeria, Brazil, United States, and beyond. My Father, My Mother, My Aunt Debbie who has supported me in the most incredible ways. My Aunt Hazel, a warm light. My Uncle Adewale who is a griot of our Nigerian family history. My Sister. My Brother. Shout out to Ethel Ruth-Tawe who curated my first film & art exhibition in Lagos which was special to me. Shout out to De’juana Mallory. Cat Miles. Kris Simms. Nia Andrews. Jeremiah Ojo. Angelo Pullen. Busola Ogunnaike. Nikyatu Jusu. Autumn Breon Williams. Sylvanus Finney. Janice Bond. Nai Vasha. Lisbon Okafor. Mallence Bart-Williams. Dionne Audain. Dominque Dawson. Jessica Emmanuel. Marie Humbert. Kemiyondo Coutinho. Jean Tanis. Nia Randall. Hannah Sidibe. Mobalaji Olaoniye. Jennifer Nnamani. Trokon Hill. Chamese Bennet. Jazsalyn. Black Beyond. Bozoma Saint John. Sean Fahie. Ericka Claudio. Djaka Souare. Lilian Uwanyuze. Yrsa Daley-Ward. Shirley Bruno. Rachel Hislop. A White Space Creative Agency. Siham & Iman Hashi. Jalil & Issan and many others. Shout out to all the people who have crashed on my couch. You know who you are : )

Thanks to these artist residencies for providing sacred time and space for me to grow and understand myself and artistic voice. Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Kala Art Institute, Pocoapoco in Oaxaca, Mexico, and Caldera Arts.

Thanks to Tony Tete Harbor and the Star Heaters of Nigeria for “Tete Muo Bu Muo”. Celestine Ukwu and his Philosophers National for “Okwukwe Na Nchekwube”. Tom Yorke for Radiohead. Laaraji for “Celestial Music: 1978-2011”. Tricky Adrian Thaws for being so unapologetically Aquarius. SUN RA for embodying the COSMIC. Malidoma Patrice Some for being and sharing his story. Clyde W. Ford for “Hero with an African Face”. Fela Kuti for his courage. Rainer Werner Fassbinder for “Ali: Fear Eats the Soul”. To all my past lovers and past relationships, thank you for being a mirror. And to all the other artists out there who feel compelled by source to create. Thank you for making.

Instagram: @jamalademola

Image Credits
Ten Cent Daisy image by Simon Bermeo-Ehmann