Daniela Yohannes

Daniela Yohannes's artwork contemplates the racialized movement and conditional sense of belonging within the African diaspora, employing her Ethiopian-Eritrean heritage as a focal point.

Biography of Daniela Yohannes

Daniela Yohannes was born in 1982. Currently, she lives and works in Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean.

In 2001, she received a Foundation Degree from Camberwell College of Art & Design. Later, in 2004, she obtained a BA in Illustration from Kingston University in the UK.

She served as an artist-in-residence at The Pikture Gallery in Bangkok, Thailand (2010) and at Art Dubai in Dubai, UAE (2020).

Daniela Yohannes's recent solo exhibitions include "I Surrender My Body to Water and Fire" at Addis Fine Art in London (2022), "The Fall: A Woman’s Descent into the Unconscious" at Addis Fine Art Project Space in London (2019), and "Beyond Voudou" at The Pikture Gallery in Bangkok.

Yohannes's paintings and collages have also been exhibited in numerous group shows, including "When We See Us - A Century of Black Figuration in Painting" at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in South Africa (2022), "Subconsciously Pop Up Exhibition" at MoCADA in partnership with Black Coffee in New York (2022), "From Modern to Contemporary: Artists from the Horn of Africa and Diaspora" presented by Addis Fine Art in partnership with CFHILL Art Space in Stockholm (2021), and many more.

Daniela Yohannes's Art Style 

Having relocated to the Caribbean two years ago, Daniela Yohannes's environment has seamlessly integrated into her creations, both spiritually and aesthetically.

She characterizes her inspiration as stemming from the invisible—the forces and concepts that shape and envelop us, unseen but perpetually influencing our bodies and minds. Yohannes's paintings bear witness to the expression of nature, delving into the intimate experiences shared solely with the elements: earth, air, water, and magic.

Through abstract portraiture and storytelling across various media, Yohannes delves into the intersection of individual and collective subconsciousness and desire, as well as the devastation wrought by displacement. Her artwork contemplates alternative Black realities, examining the connections between herself, her family, and other communities through the lens of magical symbolism.