West Africa · Southwest Nigeria · Benin Republic

Yoruba

Adire textile geometry, royal portraiture and Lagos street life — Yoruba art from southwest Nigeria and Benin, by named artists.

Yoruba
Works
36
Artists
12
Shop this heritageCultural Passport
Homeland
Southwest Nigeria, Benin and Togo
Language
Yorùbá
Historic centres
Ile-Ife, Oyo, Abeokuta, Osogbo
Known for
Adire cloth, beadwork, carved doors, Ife heads

The tradition

About Yoruba

Yoruba art grew in the city-states of southwest Nigeria and Benin. At Ile-Ife, bronze and terracotta heads were made from the 12th century.

Its living forms include adire, the indigo resist-dyed cloth of Abeokuta and Ibadan, beaded crowns, carved doors and the shrine sculpture of Osogbo.

On Raknida, that heritage meets Lagos in portraiture, fashion illustration and city scenes. Each work states its own relationship to the tradition.

National Theatre, Lagos
National Theatre, Lagos · Anthony Ezeokoye

Visual language

Motifs to look for

Symbols and forms that recur across this tradition, and that artists here draw on.

  1. Gele

    The tied head-wrap, sculpted high for celebrations and asoebi.

  2. Adire

    Indigo cloth patterned by hand with starch, tying or stitching before dyeing.

  3. Cowrie shells

    Once currency, still a sign of wealth and of divination.

  4. Beaded crowns

    The veiled crowns worn by Yoruba kings, the oba.

  5. Orisha

    The deities of Yoruba belief, among them Osun, Sango and Ogun.

  6. Ila

    Facial marks once cut to show a person's lineage or town.

Look closer

The tradition in the work

What to look for, in each work's Cultural Passport.

In Silk

Mayowa Enoch Aiyedogbon

  • Ankara wax printNigeria's everyday couture
  • Satin petalssilk's luxury, claimed for African cloth
  • Head tipped back, eyes closedthe private pleasure of feeling beautiful

Shindara

Oluwatobiloba Emmanuel Komaiya

  • Comb earringsthe everyday tool of hair care worn as jewellery
  • Tongue outplay and mischief inside a ceremonial form
  • Red bead loopa necklace that reads as a mark of office

The Dance

Adeyemo Ekundayo

  • Raised armthe peak of the movement, held
  • Tiered pale fringemotion carried in the costume
  • Blue blooms and plumesa crown for each dancer

The collection

The works

Shop all 36 works
Digital portrait of a woman in black and white with shaved head tipped back and eyes closed, a white circle drawn around one eye, framed by blue and magenta Ankara wax-print fabric and peach satin petals.
COLL. 30/30

Curator's Note

Silk has always meant luxury. Mayowa Enoch Aiyedogbon gives the word to Ankara, wrapping a woman in Nigeria's beloved wax-print cloth: our …

Yoruba

In Silk

Yr. 2023

Mayowa Enoch AiyedogbonMayowa E. A.

From$250· Collector Edition· Coll. Ed.

Painting of two young men leaning their heads together, one in a red shirt and brown jacket, one in a yellow shirt and black jacket, face markings, before an orange-and-black patterned wall.
STU. 20/20

Curator's Note

Two young men lean their heads together until they almost touch. Divine Momoh marks each face differently, a zigzag and spiral on one, a lo…

Yoruba

My Brother

Divine MomohDivine M.

From$55· Studio Edition· Stu. Ed.

Black and yellow illustration of Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos: rearing horse statues on the stand, a telecom mast, winged shapes in the sky and a seated robed figure with a staff in the foreground.
STU. 60/60

Curator's Note

Before it was a square it was a racecourse, and the horses never left. Anth Ezeokoye puts the rearing horse statues at the centre of the gr…

Yoruba

Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos

Anthony EzeokoyeAnthony E.

From$55· Studio Edition· Stu. Ed.

Black and yellow illustration of the Lagos Central Mosque with four minarets and a dome, a crescent moon over a pale disc, and market umbrellas and a crowd below.
STU. 60/60

Curator's Note

In the rest of Made in Lagos a yellow sun shines over the scene. Above the Central Mosque, Anth Ezeokoye turns it into a crescent moon. It …

Yoruba

Central Mosque, Lagos

Anthony EzeokoyeAnthony E.

From$55· Studio Edition· Stu. Ed.

Black and yellow illustration of Makoko, Lagos: a stilt house over water, a man poling a canoe, children in a second canoe, a long bridge on the horizon and a yellow sun with a pale ring.
STU. 60/60

Curator's Note

Most people see Makoko from the bridge. Anth Ezeokoye brings us down to the water, where a man poles his canoe and children ride beside him…

Yoruba

Makoko, Lagos

Anthony EzeokoyeAnthony E.

From$55· Studio Edition· Stu. Ed.

Black-and-yellow illustration of CMS Cathedral in Lagos with its clock tower against a large yellow sun; a man in a dark suit walks past taxis and a bus stop sketched in yellow line.
STU. 60/60

Curator's Note

In Lagos, CMS is as much a direction as a building. Anth Ezeokoye gives the church its place in Made in Lagos. It is a series made to prese…

Yoruba

CMS Church, Lagos

Anthony EzeokoyeAnthony E.

From$55· Studio Edition· Stu. Ed.

Black and yellow illustration of Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos: the control tower, 'MURTALA MUHAMMED AIRPORT LAGOS' lettering, a plane taking off, a parked plane and a ZENITH sign.
STU. 60/60

Curator's Note

One plane parked, one lifting away: the two halves of every trip home. Anth Ezeokoye spells the airport's name across the terminal exactly …

Yoruba

Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos

Anthony EzeokoyeAnthony E.

From$55· Studio Edition· Stu. Ed.

Black and yellow illustration of the Civic Centre, Lagos, with angular spiked roof fins and a lattice dome, cars sketched in yellow outline on a curving road below.
STU. 60/60

Curator's Note

A building made of angles, drawn so that it seems to move while standing still. Anth Ezeokoye catches the Civic Centre from the road, with …

Yoruba

Civic Centre, Lagos

Anthony EzeokoyeAnthony E.

From$55· Studio Edition· Stu. Ed.

Black-and-yellow illustration of the Ikoyi Link Bridge in Lagos: the cable-stayed bridge and its single pylon, with small sketched wings, in front of a large yellow sun, above a street of buildings.
STU. 60/60

Curator's Note

Lagos is a city held together by its crossings, and Anth Ezeokoye gives one of its newest landmarks the same affection as its oldest. In Ma…

Yoruba

Ikoyi Link Bridge, Lagos

Anthony EzeokoyeAnthony E.

From$55· Studio Edition· Stu. Ed.

Black and yellow illustration of the National Theatre, Lagos, with its ribbed cap-shaped roof, a construction crane at left, a smiling yellow sun, a man walking and a white car in front.
COLL. 30/30

Curator's Note

The building every Lagosian can draw from memory, its roof shaped like a general's cap, with a working crane standing beside it. Anth Ezeok…

Yoruba

National Theatre, Lagos

Anthony EzeokoyeAnthony E.

From$250· Collector Edition· Coll. Ed.

Black-and-yellow illustration of a crowd walking toward the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, under a billboard reading #EndPoliceBrutality with raised fists, a yellow sun overhead.
STU. 60/60

Curator's Note

Of all the Made in Lagos scenes, this one carries the most weight. Anth Ezeokoye honours the Lekki toll gate during EndSARS as a moment of …

Yoruba

Lekki Tollgate, Lagos

Anthony EzeokoyeAnthony E.

From$55· Studio Edition· Stu. Ed.

Black and yellow illustration of Oshodi, Lagos: an old Mercedes bus seen from the front, a cable footbridge over the road, a crowd, a man in a striped football shirt and the sun.
STU. 60/60

Curator's Note

The molue at the front of this picture has mostly left Lagos roads, which is exactly why it belongs here. Anth Ezeokoye parks the old Merce…

Yoruba

Oshodi, Lagos

Anthony EzeokoyeAnthony E.

From$55· Studio Edition· Stu. Ed.

See all 36 works

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Named creators

The artists

All artists
Artwork by Mayowa Enoch AiyedogbonYoruba
Mayowa Enoch Aiyedogbon

Mayowa Enoch Aiyedogbon

Lagos, Nigeria · 7 works

Mayowa Enoch Aiyedogbon, who works as Ai_mayor, is a digital artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He tells stories about himself and his cultu...

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Artwork by Adeyemo EkundayoYoruba
Adeyemo Ekundayo

Adeyemo Ekundayo

Lagos, Nigeria · 5 works

Adeyemo Ekundayo is a multidisciplinary contemporary artist based in Lagos, Nigeria, whose practice explores the metaphysical, political ...

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Artwork by Dayo Gerard AkindoyeniYoruba
Dayo Gerard Akindoyeni

Dayo Gerard Akindoyeni

Benin City, Nigeria · 3 works

Dayo Gerard Akindoyeni, who works as Ghalavanqche, is a Nigerian illustrator and concept artist based in Benin City. He has a background ...

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Artwork by Divine MomohUndeclared
Divine Momoh

Divine Momoh

Edo State, Nigeria · 1 work

Divine Momoh (Momoh Divine Paul) works as 12th The Creator. He is a full-time visual artist and designer from Etsako West, Auchi, in Edo ...

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Artwork by Anthony EzeokoyeIgbo
Anthony Ezeokoye

Anthony Ezeokoye

Missouri, USA · Origin: Nigeria · 19 works

Anthony “Anth” Ezeokoye (b. 1989) is an international award-winning digital artist, trained architect, creative director, and creative te...

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Artwork by Michael C. EkenobiUndeclared
Michael C. Ekenobi

Michael C. Ekenobi

Lagos, Nigeria · 2 works

Michael C. Ekenobi, who signs his work Mikenobi, is a Nigerian multidisciplinary visual artist based in Lagos. His work sits where contem...

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Artwork by Christian OkwanankeUndeclared
Christian Okwananke

Christian Okwananke

Lagos, Nigeria · 1 work

Christian Okwananke is a Lagos-based artist working in watercolour and mixed media. He lets colour run and bleed past the edges of his fi...

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Artwork by Funmilayo Todimu TejumolaUndeclared
Funmilayo Todimu Tejumola

Funmilayo Todimu Tejumola

Ibadan, Nigeria · 2 works

Funmilayo Tejumola, who signs her works as Démo Àjòké, is a Nigerian visual artist based in Ibadan. Her figurative painting explores Afri...

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Questions

Good to know

What is adire?

Adire is indigo resist-dyed cloth made by Yoruba women, notably in Abeokuta. Patterns are painted in cassava starch, or tied and stitched, before dyeing.

What do Yoruba facial marks mean?

Called ila, they were cut in childhood to show lineage or hometown. The practice is now rare, but the marks remain a strong element in Yoruba portraiture.

Why are Lagos scenes listed as Yoruba?

Lagos stands on historic Yoruba land, and its street life is part of contemporary Yoruba visual culture. Each work's Cultural Passport states its relationship to the tradition.

Cultural Passport

Every work comes with its story, documented.

The tradition, the artist and the story behind the work, on a digital Passport you can print and frame beside it.

How it works

Explore further

Other heritages on Raknida

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