Sondel Art

Sonya has consistently developed a strong and evolving body of work, driven by an uncompromising commitment to artistic exploration. Her practice confronts and reclaims the Black female experience. Through emotionally charged and conceptually layered work, she invites the viewer into a space of reflection and confrontation. Identity — racial, cultural, personal — is not presented as fixed, but as layered, fractured, and continuously negotiated. The observer is compelled to question: who is the true person behind the image?
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Her work moves fluidly between political commentary and ironic self-parody. It reflects on what it means to exist as a woman of Black African descent in a globalised world. Having lived in both the UK and the Netherlands, she recognises the recurring patterns of displacement, belonging, visibility and invisibility that shape multicultural societies. These parallels form a core foundation of her work.
Sonya’s paintings engage with diversity, memory, aspiration, and the psychological complexity of migration. They suggest that transformation — almost alchemical — is always imminent. Through the use of masks, patterns, and collage, she deconstructs identity and reconstructs it on her own terms. These visual strategies create layered narratives that allow viewers to recognise fragments of themselves within the work.
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Her abstract figurative paintings are bold and unapologetic: thickly layered, decorative, explosive, and alive with intense colour. Energy and movement dominate the canvas. In contrast, her drawings are refined and deliberate — figurative line work in Indian ink, pencil, or charcoal. Each piece evolves organically, guided by emotion, instinct, and lived experience.