John Obafemi Jones
Afro-Diaspora Expressionist
I paint what the ground remembers.
For more than five decades, John Obafemi Jones has created paintings exploring memory, migration, ancestry, music, and culture through the expression of the African Diaspora. His work connects the Black American South, Brooklyn, and the Caribbean through expressive painting, layered surfaces, and personal and collective memory.
Afro Diasporic Paintings of Memory, Migration, and Cultural Continuity
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I do not simply make paintings.
I bear cultural witness.
“For over five decades, I have created paintings rooted in memory, migration, and cultural witness…”
My work lives at the intersection of memory, migration, and endurance.
Each painting is a living archive.
Each surface holds what remains.
 16' x 24" Mix Media |  48" x72" Mix media |  30" x 40" Mix Media |
|---|---|---|
 16' x 20" Mix Media |  16" x 20" Mix Media |  "16x 20" Mix Media |
 30" x 40" Mix Media |  30" x 36" Mix Media |  Acrylic, enamel, and paint markers on canvas 60" x 72" |
SELECTED WORKS
The paintings:
Each work is a witness statement — rooted in Jazz, Bamboula, and the memory of Afro-Atlantic peoples. Figures that are faceless but never voiceless.
The Vision Behind the Work
I channel the rhythms of the Diaspora, painting stories that pulse with history and humanity. Each piece is an exploration of memory, forging connections between the past and the present.
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