About

Awodiya Toluwani’s technique draws from the South Nigerian Adire and Nsibidi traditions, as well as from the Adinkra (Ghana) and numerous other African traditions. Such high relief textures imitate scars of two major sources: one is from a place of physical pain, whereas the other is a cultural element that constitutes tribal marks. While the physical and emotional scars are a heritage of slavery – provoked by whips and lashes of canes – the tribal marks are scars that were intentionally given to Africans for several reasons, spanning from identification, faith, aesthetic and so on.
‘The …