MORGANABLE LIFE & CULTURE / EXHIBITION
Nigerian-British artist Orry Shenjobi is bringing Yoruba and Benin carving traditions into a contemporary art installation that explores prayer, memory, identity and the future of Nigerian craftsmanship.
Akure —
Nigerian-British artist Orry Shenjobi is bringing Yoruba and Benin carving traditions into a contemporary art installation that explores prayer, memory, identity and the future of Nigerian craftsmanship.
Her project, titled Àdúrà Lẹ́rẹ̀, will open to the public on November 12 at New Culture Studios in Ibadan.
The exhibition combines traditional making techniques with modern product design, inviting visitors to consider how inherited knowledge can shape creative work today.
The project is also a personal reflection on faith, family and cultural continuity.
Shenjobi’s installation draws on the stories, objects and skills passed between generations.
Rather than treating tradition as something fixed in the past, she presents it as a living source of ideas that artists and designers can reinterpret.
In this way, the exhibition connects older practices with questions about sustainability, identity and the materials people use.
The artist has worked with traditional carvers from Benin and Ibadan, bringing their knowledge into a new artistic setting. She is using locally sourced materials and established craft methods.
This collaboration places artisans and their expertise at the centre of the project, while showing how traditional skills can contribute to contemporary design.
A MULTIDISCIPLINARY INSTALLATION
Àdúrà Lẹ́rẹ̀ brings several art forms together within a structure known as The Bamboo Dome. The space will contain a stained-glass window, bronze works, photography, furniture and Stations of the Cross.
The wider installation draws on sculpture, collage, painting, glasswork, sound, scent and images to create an experience that reaches beyond a conventional gallery display.
The project also brings together artisans, makers, writers, musicians and curators. It recognises that cultural knowledge often survives through people who teach, practise and adapt their skills over time.
PRAYER AND FAMILY MEMORY
Prayer provides a central idea for the installation. The project grew from Shenjobi’s desire to honour her late grandmother and reflect on the values and traditions that shaped her.
Its title, Àdúrà Lẹ́rẹ̀, can be translated as “there is reward in prayer.” Shenjobi has also described the project’s central thought as “prayer is the foundation of everything.”
The installation includes Catholic references, particularly the Stations of the Cross and architectural inspiration drawn from the Dominican Chapel in Ibadan.
However, the artist has clarified that The Bamboo Dome should not be treated as a religious or sacred site. Instead, it serves as a physical expression of a prayer connected to her grandmother and a reflection on faith, possibility and the foundations of life.
This personal starting point gives the exhibition a wider cultural dimension. Family memories can carry histories, beliefs and ways of making that extend beyond one household.
By translating those memories into materials and shared spaces, Shenjobi explores how personal experience can connect with collective identity.
RESEARCH ROOTED IN IBADAN
The project developed from Shenjobi’s artistic residency at New Culture Studios in February 2026. During the residency, she carried out archival research focused largely on Ibadan’s history.
That research helped shape the installation’s relationship with place, memory and the creative traditions of the city.
Her Nigerian-British background informs her interest in cultural identity and continuity. Rather than presenting identity as a simple choice between two places, her practice considers how different experiences can coexist. The installation’s use of inherited techniques alongside contemporary design reflects that approach.
SUSTAINABILITY AND THE FUTURE OF CRAFT
Sustainability is another key theme. The project asks how materials, objects and design systems gain meaning through use, memory and culture.
Local sourcing and collaboration with traditional carvers also draw attention to the resources and knowledge already available within communities.
The exhibition responds to concerns that traditional skills may weaken when fewer people practise them or pass them on.
Shenjobi’s approach suggests that one way to support these traditions is to create new contexts for their use.
When craft knowledge informs contemporary products and installations, it can remain relevant without losing its historical roots.
Shenjobi’s professional experience supports this blend of art and design. She studied Product Design at the University of Leeds and completed a master’s degree in Social Innovation and Sustainable Futures at the University of the Arts London.
She also founded Studio ỌRRY, a creative production studio working between Lagos and London.
A PUBLIC PROGRAMME IN IBADAN
The exhibition will extend beyond the installation itself. Organisers plan a public programme featuring artist talks, readings, book launches, workshops and film screenings.
These activities are intended to encourage discussion and give visitors different ways to engage with the ideas behind the work.
Àdúrà Lẹ́rẹ̀ is scheduled to remain at New Culture Studios until May 12, 2027. Visitors should confirm opening arrangements and event details with the venue before travelling.
A DIALOGUE BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT
Shenjobi’s installation brings Yoruba and Benin carving traditions into conversation with contemporary design, but its focus extends beyond technique.
It considers what people inherit, how they preserve it and what they choose to build from it. Through craft, prayer and personal memory, the project frames cultural heritage as something that can continue to develop.
The exhibition also highlights the role of collaboration in keeping traditional knowledge active.
By working with carvers and other creative practitioners, Shenjobi places shared expertise at the heart of her approach.
Her work suggests that heritage can remain meaningful when communities have opportunities to practise, teach and reinterpret their traditions.
As the November opening approaches, Àdúrà Lẹ́rẹ̀ offers audiences a chance to consider the links between spirituality, identity and sustainability.
It brings historical craft methods into a contemporary setting while asking how design can respect the past and help shape the future.
For Shenjobi, the result is both a personal tribute and an invitation to reflect on the cultural knowledge carried by people, materials and everyday objects.
