ONCA is happy to announce our Associate Artists for 2024! In response to a series of themed open calls, we’ve selected four artists to research, develop and exhibit work focusing on engagement with environmental and social justice issues.

Biodiversity: Syl Ojalla 

Syl Ojalla is a self-taught artist honing his craft since pursuing an MA in Photography at the University of Brighton in 2018. His work weaves themes of spirituality and the sublime in the context of the anthropocene. Merging medium and large format analogue photography with digital imaging technologies has led Syl Ojalla to develop experimental practices which yield effects like solarisation, tone changes, and alternative photographic looks. Syl create prints crafted on natural fibre archival papers, predominantly Japanese Washi, Agava, and Bamboo, chosen for their texture and longevity. Each print is treated as an individual ‘object’, drawing inspiration from the Japanese tradition and aesthetic of ‘wabi-sabi’ – embracing impermanence, imperfection and natural beauty. 

Visit Syl Ojalla’s exhibition: A Sparrow Whispered In My Ear and attend his Collective Collaging Workshop in April 2024.

Pride: Lucy Le Brocq

Lucy Le Brocq is a photographer/artist based in Brighton. They explore the ideals and norms around constructed society and have been documenting the queer and trans community for 7 years, debuting their first solo show in 2018. They use their own experience to inform direction in collaboration with people who inspire them and have their own story to share. They draw inspiration from human interaction, renaissance art, current relations and the everyday mundanities.

Photo by Zoe Schulz

Black History Month: Nalo Solo

Nalo Solo is a visual artist, illustrator, graphic designer and poet whose work focuses on socially conscious realism. 

Her work questions how to rebuild the self and surrounding community with authenticity and ethical practice whilst still stuck in regressive systems and negotiating the long term after effects of trauma on physical and mental health.Reaffirming the self whilst rejecting individualism. Nalo’s aim is to repurpose her own negative experiences with creativity to uplift marginalised communities. Nalo studied BA Graphic Design and Illustration at Central Saint Martins, UAL, followed by MA Visual Arts, specialising in Illustration at Camberwell College, UAL. 

Lost Species: Tokini Fubara-Manuel

Tokini Fubara is a Niger-Deltan, Brighton-based researcher and practitioner in creative computing. They concluded their doctorate at the University of Sussex in Creative and Critical Practice on the colonial project of biometric surveillance and its contemporary applications in migration. Their works include an installation piece Border Ritual (2016) shown at the Hastings Art Forum, Border Ritual 2.0 (2017), a video game exhibited during London Design Week as part of Code Liberation’s group show at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and DREAMS OF DISGUISE (2018), the artist’s first solo at ONCA Gallery in Brighton.

Photo by Grace Bristo

Keep an eye on ONCA’s programme to find out when you can visit the artist’s exhibitions and workshops throughout the year.