‘From Discards to Coveted’: The Changing Status of Fabrics

Mathew Oyedele 

Samuel Nnorom's The Politics of Fabrics is an exhibition of works that were created during a one-month residency program at Guest Artists Space Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria. 

For the first time in his career, the artist who lives and works in Nsukka, was able to create works in Lagos – the economic and cultural capital of Nigeria – with materials obtained from it.

The exhibited pieces continued the artist's interest in narratives and subjects around fabrics but marked a stylistic departure from his previous explorations of ankara fabrics which are centered around the examination of social structure, social organisation, human condition, safe spaces, distribution and distance. The new work looks at imported second-hand clothes from the West and how they affect the development of our local textile industry.

These second-hand clothes and cast-off fabrics have different names in Nigeria. While they are popularly known as Okrika, they are also known as Akube, Bend Down Select or Bó sí kòrò in other parts of Nigeria and they have become a mainstay fabric for the low-income earners in Nigeria. But, how have these clothes appealed to Nigerians and become their go-to fashion accessories?

One of the pieces on display with the title Nah Mumu Dey Go Butik is an installation of t-shirts that are arranged in a vertical rectangular composition. Each t-shirt, with distinct brand names, overlaps the succeeding ones as they are enclosed with red diagonal fabric ropes which divide the entire composition into diverse shapes. The title of the piece alludes to the marketing slangs of the sellers of second-hand clothes in Lagos, Nigeria as well as a slight mockery of patrons of expensive brand new clothes in boutiques. Local textiles are produced and available in Nigeria but the second-hand clothes are sold at affordable prices and their demands are rising as citizens' purchasing power continues to decline in the face of economic downturn. 

Nah Mumu Dey Go Butik, 2023, Cast-off/Secondhand Clothes (Okrika), 201 x 122 x 10cm.

I Dey My Lane is another piece that catches one's attention with its colourful arrangement. Unlike Nah Mumu Dey Go Butik whose composition comprises of t-shirts alone, this piece comprises of t-shirts and joggers in both vertical and diagonal composition. This simultaneous flow of arrangements adds rhythm to the piece and lends credence to the movement that reverberates through the exhibition.

I Dey My Lane, 2023, Cast-off/Secondhand Clothes (Okrika), 178 x 122 x 10cm.

The fabrics for the works were acquired from the wholesale fabric sellers at the Mami market in Oshodi, Lagos. The artist deliberately acquired lower grades of the second-hand clothes to show how Africa remains a dumping ground for fabrics that are no longer saleable in the West. This is what the artist addresses in another piece with the title Japa, a Nigerian word for migration. He believes that migration is not exclusive to living things but also includes non-living things, and that their contributions to the environment that hosts them should not be neglected. 

It is worthy of note that despite the artist's stylistic departure, he maintains strict adherence to the New Nsukka School's methodology. The New Nsukka School’s methodology was inspired by El Anatsui’s art making strategy of aggregating small objects into a large and complex whole, as seen in his bottle top works. Graduates of the Old Nsukka School had been initially acclaimed for their exploration of the traditional Igbo body and wall painting known as Uli. The new practice of collecting multiple elements together in one work can be found in the works of Ozioma Onuzulike, Ngozi Omeje and many others. Samuel had his MFA in sculpture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and became exposed to the creative crucible of the Nsukka School. He has therefore followed the principle of the school while leveraging on his early exposure and relationship with fabrics at his mother's tailoring workshop. He has won prizes in the 2016, 2017 and 2019 editions of Life in My City Art Festival, and was the first prize recipient (leatherwork category) of Icreate Africa in 2019. He was also the Global Prize winner, Art for Change, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK and was shortlisted for Cultural & Artistic Responses To Environmental Change Mentorship Grant, Prince Claus Fund.