Wole Lagunju

Wole Lagunju
Wole Lagunju is a 1986 graduate of Fine Arts and graphic design at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. He currently lives in North Carolina, USA, and has held a number of notable public and private exhibitions. Lagunju was awarded a Phillip Ravenhill Fellowship by the UCLA in 2006 and a Pollock Krasner award in 2009. Lagunju’s drawings are inspired by the work of traditional Yoruba women textile designers who operate the age-old local indigo tie and dye industry (Adire); an important part of Nigerian culture. His works borrow from the lexicon of Adire to reflect on human character and spirituality and to mitigate the tension apparent in understanding both the physical and metaphysical worlds. As a diaspora artist caught between differing societies in a globalized age, he uses Adire motifs and their associated meanings as a concept to examine multiculturalism. His drip technique with inks stimulates the vibrancy of indigo dyeing; thrives on spontaneity as well as a calculated and deliberate artistic process. This conflation of ideas, text and artistic experience enables him to address some pertinent questions relating to what he identifies as ‘self’ in his purpose/s as a contemporary African artist.

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