Nigerian artist Ayobola Kekere-Ekun uses a technique known as paper quilling. She rolls and glues together colored paper, ribbons and strips of canvas to create her work. She and I, the Protectors.
Her work primarily concerns and depicts Black, female identity. "You can't separate the two, at least not for me," she said. "I've always thought that no matter where I end up living, or what I end up doing, it's the origin point for me." She and I. The Secret Keepers.
Ayobola Kekere-Ekun
With a distinctive and colorful style, Kekere-Ekun likes to create "visual excess" to examine Nigeria's identity. "Our people tend to be very bright, very helpful and very expressive," she said. Memory Bank Error I.
Ayobola Kekere-Ekun
One motif that recurs in her work is the cyclops -- the one-eyed creature of Greek mythology. "The cyclops for me is just an extension of how I like to mess with the eyes in my work," she said. After School Portrait.
Ayobola Kekere-Ekun
Kekere-Ekun believes ancient mythology can be instructive for us today. "I think there's a lot to learn, literally, and metaphorically, from how people were just trying to make sense of the world and their place in it," she said. Are you with me. To the death.
Ayobola Kekere-Ekun
Motherhood is also a central part of Kekere-Ekun's work, with much of her work based on her relationship with her own mother. Gbórí dúró (Keep your head still).
Ayobola Kekere-Ekun
"I kind of cling to this almost childlike perspective in my work because it feels safer," explained Kekere-Ekun. Gbórí dúró (Keep your head still II).
Ayobola Kekere-Ekun
Her work often emphasizes the importance of mental health, a topic that Kekere-Ekun says has a stigma attached to it in Nigeria. "When you're in a space where the bulk of the population is just in survival mode, worrying about something as intangible as mental health, it just seems like a luxury, and it really shouldn't be." Happy Survival Day.
Ayobola Kekere-Ekun
Although quilling can be viewed as a craft, Kekere-Ekun doesn't approach it that way. "I treat it no differently than if I was sculpting or making an installation," she said. "It's just another way to tell the story." Memory Bank Error II.
Ayobola Kekere-Ekun
Kekere-Ekun has upcoming exhibitions in Los Angeles and Johannesburg. Memory Bank Error VI
