My practice explores migration, identity, and the psychological negotiation of self within institutional systems. Drawing from my personal experience of relocating from Nigeria to the United Kingdom, my work investigates how identity becomes reshaped through processes of displacement, restriction, and cultural transition.
Working primarily with reclaimed denim fabric, I appropriate Yoruba visual motifs traditionally found in Yoruba adire textile patterns and recontextualize them on Western denim jean material. This substitution is intentional: Adire cotton textiles which are historically associated with Yoruba cultural identity are replaced with denim, a fabric globally linked to Western industrial culture. Through this material dialogue, my work becomes a visual metaphor for migration i.e. an encounter between cultural origins and new socio-political environments.
My process incorporates screen printing, bleaching, and painterly approach. Patterns are first transferred onto denim using screen printing, after which bleach is applied unpredictably across the surface. This process of erasure and alteration symbolises how migrant identities are often reshaped by institutional structures, social expectations, and the psychological pressures of adaptation.
By merging textile traditions, printmaking processes, and abstraction, rather than representing migration through literal imagery, my work creates ambiguous visual spaces in which identity appears layered, fragmented, and unstable. Through this approach, my work attempts to visualise migration as an ongoing negotiation rather than a fixed narrative. I use my personal experience of migration as a starting point to engage with broader social and political discussions surrounding immigration. By avoiding direct narrative, the work invites viewers to reflect on the emotional and conceptual complexities of migration, encouraging a deeper consideration of how displacement, cultural negotiation, and institutional structures shape identity.