Wole Lagunju
Nigerian from the diaspora living in North Carolina USA, Wole Lagunju (1966 Osoghbo) is associated with the contemporary movement of the Ifé school of art, Onaïsm, dedicated to the reinvention of the forms and philosophy of traditional Yoruba art and design – a culture that stretches from the southern region of Togo to southwest of Nigeria. Trained in design and fashion that he raises to an art form, his subjects with extraordinary physical magnetism pose in flowery blazers and psychedelic dresses totally seventies pose with Yoruba masks. A combination of textile installation, graphic design and painting to his decorative traditions and Gelede masks, the artist explores post-colonial hierarchies and the hybridization of cultures. Wole Lagunju has a degree in Graphic Design from the University of Ifé, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. His work is part of many private and public institutions.