Today we’d like to introduce you to Chi Nwosu.
Hi Chi, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hi, I’m Chi Nwosu, pronounced “chee whoa-sue”. My full first name is Chinyere, and even though I don’t use it often, it matters to me to name myself. I am a Black, nonbinary, queer Nigerian and a being of wonder. I’m an artist, a worldbuilder, a lover of beauty, and a student of liberation.
My work is rooted in my lineage, especially the Igbo women who practiced Uli art, and in the ancestors I carry by blood and by resistance. I exist both as an immigrant on stolen land and as an indigenous person finding home in diaspora. These truths shape how I move through the world and how I make art.
My practice is guided by spirit and by the wisdom of feeling. I learn from the more-than-human world and from the living histories of international resistance that remind me we are connected across time and place.
Through my work, I hope to help others imagine a world held by love, curiosity, play, and mutuality. I want my art to be a reminder that we are all seeds of change and possibility, and that the world we long for begins with how we choose to grow.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Many obstacles I have faced are tied to the inherited stories we are all born into, shaped by systems like white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. None of us created these forces, yet we often find ourselves unconsciously recreating them in our relationships, our choices, and even in how we see ourselves. These systems can pull us away from our spirit and make it difficult to live in our bodies with ease or trust.
The journey of returning to oneself is rarely linear. It asks for persistence, community, and a willingness to choose life again and again. As a movement artist, I am often contending with the overwhelming reality of this moment, and while that can be painful, it also opens me to connection, joy, tenderness, and wonder.
My art practice requires me to sit with discomfort, with grief, and with the stories I have internalized, and meet them with curiosity and compassion.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My work reflects all the parts of who I am and offers a portal into how deeply connected I am to the beings around me, both seen and unseen. When you learn the names of your non-human kin and the systems shaping your world, it becomes easier to recognize the threads that hold us together and the ones that try to pull us apart. That awareness pushes me to make art that nurtures community and helps us remember that we are part of nature, not separate from it. I’m constantly in awe of the beauty of our shared human, earthly, and spiritual experience, and of the power we hold when we move toward collective liberation.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I remember this wallpaper in my childhood home that felt so perfectly early-90s. A watercolor rose pattern, red blooms with trailing leaves, and loose curly-ques on a cream background. In my memory, it was wallpaper, but now I’m not sure—it might have been a tablecloth or a bedsheet. You know how childhood memories blur and magnify themselves.
I was completely mesmerized by the pattern, by how just a few brushstrokes and swirls of color held so much vivid detail. I remember staring at these tiny worm-like strokes along the vines, trying to understand how something so simple could feel so alive.
Fast-forward to my life now, and I notice I still add those tiny worm-like strokes to many of my florals. I like to imagine that early fascination is why. It feels like I’m living my childhood dream, to be an artist is to stay open to wonder.
Contact Info:
- Website: littlegaze.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itschinwosu/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/little.gaze
