Cor Fort came from a very emotional period for me. While I was making the piece, I didn’t really know what I was going to call it. It was only when it was finished that the words Cor Fort came back to me. Catalan for “strong heart.” I had first heard the expression in an art class in Barcelona, and somehow, at that moment, it felt right for the work. For me, Cor Fort is about resilience, patience and having the strength to keep going, whatever you are going through. The piece also came at an important point in the development of my work. My style was beginning to change. I was moving away from brighter colours and becoming more interested in raw materials, sand, wood on wood, scratched surfaces and the textures I saw on the walls around Barcelona. The red fabric is one of the few strong bursts of colour. I dyed it myself, and for me it carries courage, strength and boldness. Looking back, I see Cor Fort as one of the foundational works in finding the visual language I use today — a piece about staying strong, but also about change.
Shyne Eghosa (b. 1975) is a Nigerian-born, self-taught artist whose work explores memory and identity through bold, textured compositions. Since beginning to paint in early 2023, he has developed a raw and expressive style rooted in Neo-Expressionism, Art Brut, and a Trans-Cultural approach where African heritage and European diasporic experience collide. Working primarily on wood panels with acrylics, oil sticks, pastels, and fabric, he draws inspiration from traditional African masks and crafts, as well as artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paul Klee, and Manolo Valdés. Many viewers relate his work to Basquiat, though his palette and forms also reflect the modernist spirit of Barcelona, where he currently lives. His choice of wood as a primary surface is rooted in childhood memories grounding his practice in personal history and an approach that embraces the raw, unrefined nature of the materials themselves. He is the founder of Unmaking Art Studio, a nonprofit space in Barcelona where a diverse group of emerging artists come together to share ideas, create, and exhibit. For him, “unmaking” is not about destruction, it’s about stripping away what no longer fits and giving shape to something more honest. As he puts it: “My art is a conversation between cultures, history, and my personal journey. Each piece is a step forward in discovering who I am.” Though new to the art scene, Shyne's work was selected for the juried Biennale di Chianciano 2024 in Tuscany, Italy. He has also exhibited in various group shows in Barcelona, and currently has work with Tobian Art Gallery in Florence, Italy.
Cor Fort came from a very emotional period for me. While I was making the piece, I didn’t really know what I was going to call it. It was only when it was finished that the words Cor Fort came back to me. Catalan for “strong heart.” I had first heard the expression in an art class in Barcelona, and somehow, at that moment, it felt right for the work. For me, Cor Fort is about resilience, patience and having the strength to keep going, whatever you are going through. The piece also came at an important point in the development of my work. My style was beginning to change. I was moving away from brighter colours and becoming more interested in raw materials, sand, wood on wood, scratched surfaces and the textures I saw on the walls around Barcelona. The red fabric is one of the few strong bursts of colour. I dyed it myself, and for me it carries courage, strength and boldness. Looking back, I see Cor Fort as one of the foundational works in finding the visual language I use today — a piece about staying strong, but also about change.
Shyne Eghosa (b. 1975) is a Nigerian-born, self-taught artist whose work explores memory and identity through bold, textured compositions. Since beginning to paint in early 2023, he has developed a raw and expressive style rooted in Neo-Expressionism, Art Brut, and a Trans-Cultural approach where African heritage and European diasporic experience collide. Working primarily on wood panels with acrylics, oil sticks, pastels, and fabric, he draws inspiration from traditional African masks and crafts, as well as artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paul Klee, and Manolo Valdés. Many viewers relate his work to Basquiat, though his palette and forms also reflect the modernist spirit of Barcelona, where he currently lives. His choice of wood as a primary surface is rooted in childhood memories grounding his practice in personal history and an approach that embraces the raw, unrefined nature of the materials themselves. He is the founder of Unmaking Art Studio, a nonprofit space in Barcelona where a diverse group of emerging artists come together to share ideas, create, and exhibit. For him, “unmaking” is not about destruction, it’s about stripping away what no longer fits and giving shape to something more honest. As he puts it: “My art is a conversation between cultures, history, and my personal journey. Each piece is a step forward in discovering who I am.” Though new to the art scene, Shyne's work was selected for the juried Biennale di Chianciano 2024 in Tuscany, Italy. He has also exhibited in various group shows in Barcelona, and currently has work with Tobian Art Gallery in Florence, Italy.
