WHEN artist Olamide Adesola emerged in the art scene, she was met with the challenges of a crowded genre-portrait art. However, her unique approach, influenced by her Nigerian heritage and a central focus on black women in leadership, sets her apart. With each group exhibition, Adesola’s creative strength grows, offering a fresh perspective on themes as diverse as her background.
Most portrait artists are aware of the competitive challenges, as commercial focus appears to be the drive that inspires them. But beyond the commercial appreciation value, Adesola, a trained artist from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, has a passion for celebrating the strength of women. Among her paintings celebrating women are ‘Her Highness’, ‘No Woman, No Cry’, ‘Focus’, ‘The Golden Girl’, ‘Queen Moremi’, and ‘The African Child’.
The artist’s passion becomes louder in ‘Her Highness’ (2022), in which she combines her aesthetics skill with philosophical approach to issues. According to a text attached to the painting, Adesola’s ideal black woman represents humility and wisdom, energised by even mental strength. It reads: “She’s Queen, she’s powerful, she’s Black. Her royalty doesn’t necessarily have to be by birth but by her virtues and values. She’s not a goddess, but she’s a Queen! She’s brave and cannot be overlooked, though history might tend to be unjust to her. Though she’s covered in Green, once you dig the roots, you’ll discover that the foundation is Black. Though compassionate, she’s a fighter for what is just and right! She’ll never stop fighting for the good course because she’s… Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Chief Justice Meaza Ashenaf, Kamala Harris, Serena Williams …and so on.”
Another interesting piece with a similar theme is ‘No Woman No Cry’, a large painting dated 2022. The artist explained that her subject’s challenges inspire her to higher ground. “She exudes confidence against all odds. Her confidence is inimitable. She has taken her challenges in life in strides. Staying focused and positive is her only chance of survival. Everything will be alright, woman… So, woman, don’t cry!”
As much Adesola celebrates black women in ‘Her Highness’, it would be an expansive dialogue to have the other side of women whose choice of livelihood has been detrimental to the status of African women. For every Okonjo-Iweala, Adichie, Johnson-Sirleaf, Justice Ashenaf, Harris or Serena Williams, there are volumes of women whose characters question the expected humanity in womanhood. As Africans, artists should be using their art to highlight the socio-cultural decadence of the people alongside a celebration of great individuals.
As a portrait artist, Adesola’s art, like most artists of her generation, has links to quite some notable masters per styles and techniques. In pieces such as ‘The Girl With the Red Scarf’ and some other artworks, there is a common colour tone with the style of some known artists. While it’s too early to predict the future for Adesola, an artist whose practice is less than mid-career years of practice, the high prospects for Adesola come with its fragility in the commercial context. An artist’s success is much about being at the right place at the appropriate time with content that appeals to the power that be, so experts would argue.
With over ten exhibitions to her credit since 2018, showing in Nigeria and the UK, Adesola, whose signature is Ayo’lamide, explained her art further: “My artistic practice is deeply rooted in the African culture and personal experiences, which I journal through my art to connect with a broad audience, particularly women,” she said.
“Through my work, I aim to shed light on the often-overlooked sacrifices of Black women, seeking to challenge unjust societal norms and spark conversations about their struggles and pain. This I try to achieve through striking use of vibrant colour palette and a conscious choice of a deep-rooted sense of subject matter,” the artist added.
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