People in Black and White

About the artist

A leading Nigerian contemporary artist and founding member of the Ona movement, Tola Wewe has built a visual language through the continued reinterpretation of Yoruba symbols, folklore and spiritual traditions. His practice draws from formal training at Ife, research into the Ijaw water-spirit mask, and the visual systems of Yoruba society, which he combines with broader art-historical influences. Through dense patterns, recurring figures and symbolic forms, Wewe treats tradition not as something fixed but as a language capable of continual transformation. His work has been exhibited extensively in Nigeria, Europe and the United States and is represented in international public and private collections, including the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His international exhibition history places the Ona movement within a wider conversation about contemporary African visual languages.