Nigerian artist Ayobola Kekere-Ekun creates her colorful works from folded paper

Eyes are sometimes mentioned to be home windows to the soul. For Nigerian artist Ayobola Kekere-Ekun, eyes are a manner of showing the reality of somebody’s character. “You’ll be able to inform quite a bit from an individual’s eyes. The eyes supply a mutual vulnerability,” she mentioned.

Mixing childlike, colourful imagery with themes like sexism and Black id, Kekere-Ekun’s artwork shouldn’t be created utilizing paint on canvas or a hammer and chisel, however slightly by means of rolling and shaping paper in a course of often called “quilling.”

Quilling — generally often called paper filigree — dates again tons of of years, and was practiced by European nuns way back to the sixteenth century, in line with the non-profit Quilling Guild, however Kekere-Ekun stumbled upon the approach by chance. In the future, while strolling residence, she was given a flyer and commenced to play with it.

“I had simply discovered a option to paint with out portray,” she recalled. “So I went proper again out, and I purchased a bunch of paper. Then I lower them up and I simply stored rolling them and gluing them to a board simply to see what occurred. It turned a extremely intense, passionate affair that simply morphed into one thing loving and secure.”

The work might be tough to outline — is it a craft or an artwork? “It is one thing a suburban mum in Arkansas would use to make playing cards,” Kekere-Ekun defined. “However I do not deal with it like a craft. I deal with it no otherwise than if I used to be sculpting or making an set up. It is simply one other option to inform the story.”

Creating an art work this fashion can take her wherever from two weeks to seven months, relying on the dimensions and scope of the piece. The method often begins with a sketch, earlier than finally changing into a “skeleton” of its future incarnation. Then Kekere-Ekun will quill piece by piece utilizing coloured paper, ribbons and elements of canvases earlier than it is finally accomplished. “I discover a great way to explain it’s that I am constructing a jigsaw puzzle, however I can see the place it ends,” she defined. “I simply name it traces on steroids.”

“I really feel like males take up sufficient area on this planet”

Kekere-Ekun was born and raised in Lagos however is at the moment primarily based in Johannesburg. Her father labored as a surgeon in Saudi Arabia, while her mom gave up her job as a hospital administrator to look after her and her siblings.

Artwork was a fascination from a younger age, however not a ardour that may encourage a profession. At first, structure appeared just like the extra secure path for Kekere-Ekun, following in her great-uncle’s footsteps. Nevertheless, the mathematical elements drove her away and the pursuit of artwork took maintain.

The cyclops — the one-eyed creature of Greek mythology — is a recurring motif in Kekere-Ekun’s work. Credit score: Ayobola Kekere-Ekun

Exploring femininity, her work primarily offers with Black girls. “I really feel like males take up sufficient area on this planet,” she defined. “I do not really feel like they should take up sufficient area in my head as nicely.”

Kekere-Ekun hopes her work can transcend preconceptions of Nigerian artwork. “There was once this very stereotypical notion of what Nigerian arts might appear like. If it was extra summary, they might be some masks. If it was extra figurative, there can be a market scene, or a woman fetching water. Now, there’s much more nuance.”

For Kekere-Ekun, remedy has additionally been vital to how her work has developed. Initially, her artwork dealt extra with social and political points that pissed off her, however remedy allowed her to precise herself extra. “I believe I used to be drowning as a result of I’ve spent my complete life internalizing the whole lot that has ever occurred to me,” she mentioned. “I believe remedy 100% saved my life.”

Kekere-Ekun is at the moment ending her PhD in artwork and design on the College of Johannesburg. Academia has left it tough for her to pursue her ardour full-time, however she believes that each one artists ought to keep true to themselves.

“There are few issues as obtrusive as dishonest work. If you happen to do not worth your perspective, nobody else will,” she mentioned. “There’s one thing very humbling or rewarding in individuals whom I’ve by no means met, discovering a reference to what I’ve to say.”