He’s a Nigerian-born, Canada-based interdisciplinary artist, curator and writer whose work often, explores theme of diaspora, semiotics and identity. “An immigration is an organ transplanted” is a conceptual phrase associated with his 2026 exhibition “Another Octave Higher” at Catriona Jeffries Gallery, until May 9, 2026. The phrase highlights Ukaigwe’s exploration of the “semiotics of diasporic belonging”, specifically examining the relationship between a transplanted organ’s refusal and a state-sanctioned refusal of a transplanted person. He uses painting, installation and video to create, in his words, a “speculative sensorium” that questions conventional modes of witnessing, often in the context of the Black\African diaspora. Ukaigwe earned his BAFTA at the University of Manitoba.
