Nigerian-British artist Orry Shenjobi will open Àdúrà Lẹ́rẹ̀, a new solo installation bringing Yoruba and Benin carving traditions into contemporary art and design, at New Culture Studios in Ibadan on 12 November.
The exhibition grew from several years of research and was further developed during Shenjobi’s residency at New Culture Studios earlier this year. A preview programme is scheduled from 5 to 13 November, with talks and other events surrounding the public opening.
Shenjobi said the project began in 2023 in a small London studio as a personal response to faith and the memory of her late grandmother.
“At its heart, it began with faith, and the memory of my grandmother,” she wrote in the first edition of her Àdúrà Lẹ́rẹ̀ Journal. “It was my way of honouring her legacy, and the knowledge and traditions that shaped me long before I had the language to describe them.”
Traditional craft meets contemporary design
Àdúrà Lẹ́rẹ̀, translated by the artist as “there is reward in prayer”, combines traditional Nigerian craft techniques with product design, architecture and a site-specific sculptural installation.
The work has been created with traditional carvers from Ibadan and Benin and uses locally sourced materials and established craft methods. It includes collage, painting, glasswork, sculpture, photography, sound, scent and furniture.
A structure called The Bamboo Dome will contain a stained-glass window, bronze works, photographs, furniture and Stations of the Cross. Shenjobi has said the dome is an artistic installation rather than a sacred site, although its form draws partly from the Dominican Chapel in Ibadan and from the Catholic imagery familiar from her childhood.
The project also brings artisans, makers, writers, musicians and curators into the exhibition. It is curated by Anthony Ogochukwu Agbapuonwu, with Tobi Alexandra Falade as assistant curator.
Shenjobi said her practice had increasingly focused on what people inherit, preserve and choose to build from the past.
“I look at how stories, materials, objects, images and ways of making can carry memory and meaning, while also taking on new forms,” she said.
Research in Ibadan and Benin City
The artist’s research has taken her through churches, museums, archives and workshops in Ibadan and Benin City. In a September journal entry, she wrote that she began examining why Nigerian churches so often used a visual language imported from elsewhere, despite the depth of local architectural and craft traditions.
That question led her towards the materials, carving systems and design knowledge found in Yoruba and Benin communities. The exhibition uses those traditions as working methods within a new installation, rather than presenting them only as historical objects.
New Culture Studios provides a significant setting for the project. The Ibadan arts centre was established through the work of Nigerian artist and architect Demas Nwoko, who was associated with the influential Mbari Club. Shenjobi undertook archival research on Ibadan during her residency there in February.
The exhibition’s public programme is expected to include artist talks, readings, book launches, workshops and film screenings. Further details for individual preview-week events are due to be announced by the organisers.
From London to Venice and Ibadan
Born in 1997, Shenjobi works across photography, film, painting, sculpture, installation and design. She holds a degree in Product Design from the University of Leeds and a master’s degree in Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures from the University of the Arts London.
In 2024, she presented À Wá Ǹbé: A Celebration of Community and Culture at Palazzo Mora during the Venice Biennale. That exhibition examined Nigerian Owambe celebration through photography, textiles, painting, sound and film.
She is also the founder of Studio ỌRRY and the Laho Foundation, an artist-led organisation focused on widening access to art education in Nigeria.
For the new Ibadan exhibition, the artist has described the production process as one of repeated testing, delays and collaboration.
“There were versions of this project that didn’t work. Conversations that changed everything overnight. Late nights, false starts, delays, and moments when I genuinely wasn’t sure it would all come together,” she wrote.
Àdúrà Lẹ́rẹ̀ is scheduled to remain at New Culture Studios until 12 May 2027. Visitors planning to attend the opening or associated events should confirm the final programme with the venue or artist before travelling.
