When Yinka Shonibare selected Nengi Omuku for Frieze London 2024's prestigious "Artist-to-Artist" presentation, he was recognizing a kindred spirit – an artist who, like himself, finds innovation through engagement with African textile traditions.
The Artist: Lagos to London and Back
Born in 1987, Omuku lives and works between Lagos and London. Her choice to paint on sanyan – a handspun Yoruba fabric traditionally used for ceremonial garments – transforms each canvas into a cultural object before a single brushstroke is applied. Represented by Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London, she bridges worlds with every work.
The Work: Floating Worlds
Her Frieze presentation featured three new suspended works, viewable in the round, allowing visitors to see both the painted surface and the artisanal cloth quality. The subjects – figures, flora, fauna – exist in dreamlike space, neither fully abstract nor conventionally representational. Nature and humanity merge in patterns that echo the fabric's own rhythms.
The Breakthrough: Prime Minister's Choice
The ultimate institutional validation came when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer selected "All Things Being Equal" (2024) for 10 Downing Street. From West African craft traditions to the seat of British power – the journey speaks volumes.
Why Now? Roots and Routes
As the art world reckons with its Eurocentric histories, artists like Omuku offer alternative genealogies. Her work is neither "African art" in some exoticizing sense nor "international" art that erases its origins. It is both, simultaneously.
Conclusion: Fabric of the Future
Nengi Omuku represents a new generation of artists for whom tradition and innovation are not opposites but partners. Her rising profile suggests the art world is finally ready to receive this message.