Oscar Joyo @oscar_joyo decided to paint a mural of tobacco leaves, Malawi’s primary export, as a way of grounding his largest painting to date in his own roots.

This exhibition takes his exploration of identity further, featuring larger canvases, rich textures, and vivid, cosmic-inspired color schemes. Tobacco plants—a major Malawian export used in healing and sacred rituals—glow with bioluminescence, while thermal and infrared skin tones give his subjects a futuristic edge, turning Blackness into a symbol of evolution, revolution, and resilience.

 Recent political pressures on immigrants have led Joyo to revisit themes of migration, aiming to portray immigration as a source of strength rather than fear. His work reflects the complex emotions of anger, sadness, and longing for his homeland while finding connections between Malawi and Chicago. As a Black immigrant in a city he loves, he continues to evolve and grow. When he finally returns to Malawi, he will not leave as he came.