Indigo Reimagined

Sun Bebe, Aluminum Foil, 122 x 122 cm. 2019.

Even Mother’s Wrapper Couldn’t Cover, Mixed Media, 170 x 249 cm. 2019.

Photo credit: Peju Layiwola

13 June-30 July, 2019, J.F Ade Ajayi Auditorium Gallery, University of Lagos

30 October-30 November, 2019, Alara, VI, Lagos

Indigo Reimagined, a solo exhibition by Peju Layiwola, revisits the indigenous clothing tradition of dyed fabrics in South western Nigeria. It highlights the multidimensionality of this artistic practice while simultaneously providing us with a window into other indigenous crafts like pottery and metal work associated with dyeing. These installations are not limited to the dyed textile as a site of adornment and signification. Instead, they redirects our gaze at the very process of art as art in their own right; in a sense, the process and labour of making art is itself conceived of as art. This conceptual, yet tactical engagement with cloth, compels the viewer to look at the often neglected, but important aspects involved in the process of this long-standing tradition of indigo dyeing. The show stands as a reflection of modern urban culture in the introduction of new themes, techniques, and materials. It ultimately challenges the viewer to see cloth in multiple sociocultural and political dimensions.

Exhibition catalogue includes essays from Jean Borgatti, Janine Sytsma, Partricia Oyelola, Emmanuelle Spiesse, Ayo Adeduntan and Patrick Oloko.

Orimipe: Performance

Orimipe, performance at the opening and close of the Exhibition. Performed by 16 males to register the entry of males into the art of indigo dyeing which was predominantly a female preserve. The men developed the use of stencils for mass producing these textile patterns.