MOJEKWU OSORANNA artworks are what he describes as “Journal Entries”. They are a constant work in collecting the experiences and insight that have shaped him as a “person” and as an “artist”. His works are also contemporary repositories that captures the dynamics of being “young” and “Nigerian” in today’s world. First and foremost, for materials much of Mojekwu’s works are layered. First comes the Outline, which is painted, and then other recycled materials, from “beads” to “threads”, are used to highlight the outlines, using a 3-D, slightly hallucinogenic effects.
Last Year, Adidas commissioned Mojekwu’s Two Large-Scale art pieces for their flagship store in Lagos, Nigeria and was displayed July this year. These artworks are Mojekwu’s Biggest and Most Ambitious projects yet, and he knew they had to represent the spirit of community and resilience from that period of his life.
According to him “The assignment itself was titled “community”, Mojekwu says. “They [Adidas] are aiming to localize themselves within Nigeria. So when I was assigned the task to create a painting, that it is the “Community” I was able to reference.”
Mojekwu Osoranna was 10 when he first moved back to Nigeria from the United States to continue his secondary school education. Like most Africans straddling multiple identities, Mojekwu finds himself in the age-long struggle of not being Nigerian enough in Nigerian after leaving an All-white catholic school back in the United State, where he had stood-out for being Black. Still, Mojekwu says the five years he spent in Lagos sharpened his Self-perception, and to this day, the 27 years oldvisual artist continues to draw from that experience for his work.
According to Mojekwu “Those five years are ingrained in my head, [they] created the person I am today in terms of how I navigate the world and how I’m able also to navigate complications and Obstacles,” Mojekwu says. “It’s almost like a military school where you are embedded with this strength to navigate the world, and so the pieces that I create, it’s almost a pledge of thanks to the people within that community”.
“It’s painting on canvas”, Mojekwu says, “But it’s not just two-dimensional. This piece is three-dimensional, and it’s supposed to showcase the dimensions of African youth”, he actually meant this on a metaphorical and technical level.
For the commissioned works, which took over 600 hours to complete, Mojekwu showcases the diversity within the Nigerian demographics and how that reflects contemporary Nigerian culture. In one of the artworks, multiple elongated heads stand next to each other. Their appearances differ and so does their demeanor. One wears a Hijab, and another has braids. A closer look at the paintings reveals that the iconic Adidas stripes are incorporated into the background. In it’s messaging, these pieces are acutely aware of the intersections between sports, faith, culture, and self-expression that defines many young people in Nigeria today.
JOURNEYS OF THE BEGINNING
Mojekwu has always known he wanted to become an artist. Even before hosting solo shows in Lagos or creating for Adidas, his first inclination about the power of art occurred when he was just 6 years old. He had shown his parents a creative drawing of a horse, which elicited an excitement in them that moved him.
According to him “Being able to show this drawing of a horse to my dad, and him calling my mom at the office and being like, “come and see what Oso drew”. It’s those moments that I remember 20-plus years down the road. To see the light on my father’s face after I showed him the pencil drawing of a horse, that was a complete nonsense. To see the reaction was something that was just so out of this world.”
“The truth of the matter is that, at that time, I wasn’t necessarily the best at drawing figurative object, but I just loved the experience of putting pencil to paper as your starting point and being able to go through a journey of creating whatever object that was”, Mojekwu says.
In many ways, Mojekwu remains electrified by the string reactions his works receives, even after a decade of working as a visual artist.
According to him “If what am creating resonates with you in a certain kind of way and unlocks a certain kind of feeling for you within your own context and your own experience, that in itself it’s the biggest reward of being an artist”.
THE CHRONICLES OF “FULL CIRCLES”
As someone who also grew up loving streetwear, particularly Adidas sneakers, Mojekwu considers this moment as a full circle. “what’s so exciting about this commission is that it’s authentic and it’s rooted in truth”, Mojekwu says. “To be able to create a piece that explores those three pillars of brands, sports, and cultures, I think those are the elements that I was able to ground myself in to create the pieces”.
For Mojekwu, the journey to creating these large-scale paintings began with a solo exhibition in 2021. The exhibition, titled “Look Beneath the Surface”, was filled with mixed-media art installations that addresses self-perception and the deception of a one-dimensional way of seeing people. A patron connected to the Adidas project purchased his work, and that is where things took Off.
Ultimately, Mojekwu wants the work he has created to convey a simple but incredible urgent message, “Togetherness”. “It’s supposed to reflect the entire Nigerian diaspora, whether it be across Cultural border, norms, traditions, or just across our palette of diversity within the confines of Nigeria. That’s what this piece is supposed to reflect”.
The goal is also to emphasize the rising power of community amongst young Nigerians, and the ways these collectives and supporting systems are powering culture.
Lastly, “the whole point is to kind of show this variety of Nigerian youth, and how they are sharing the community within themselves”, he says. “I want them to be able to see themselves in this piece, but also see others that may be different from themselves and have a greater appreciation for the difference, and the fact that although you are one of these people within this painting, there’s a world of people that you also need to have greater curiosity about.
IN SUMMARY
The commissioned works:
- Piece one: Features a series of life-sized, three-dimensional figures representing everyday Lagosians with diverse appearances, including different hairstyles and religious wear. The iconic Adidas three stripes are subtly incorporated into the background. Mojekwu intended for anyone viewing the piece to see themselves or someone they know within it, celebrating the city’s unique youth culture.
- Piece two: Depicts a village scene that symbolizes collective strength and community resilience. According to Mojekwu, the artworks draw inspiration from his own experiences living in Lagos during his secondary school years.
Significance of the commission
The project was a milestone for Mojekwu and reflected Adidas’s investment in local talent and authentic Nigerian narratives.
- Artistic vision: Mojekwu used sustainable and recycled materials to create his artworks, proving that discarded items can be transformed into something of value.
- Cultural expression: The installations anchored the new waterfront flagship store, which was designed to blend global sportswear with Nigerian art, fashion, and culture.
- Local focus: The collaboration with a Nigerian-American artist allowed Adidas to localize its presence in the country, rooting its global brand within the context of Lagosian identity and community.
COMMERCIAL ADIDAS LAGOS
Located in the sought-after Victoria Island area, Oshinowo Studio won the ADIDAS Lagos Flagship Store project following a design competition held by ONL Estates with the brief to draw together Nigerian art, culture, and aesthetics with the global brand’s style and personality. Oshinowo Studio’s design for ADIDAS Flagship Store Lagos draws inspiration from Lagos, the home of urban culture in Nigeria and a global centre of creativity. The two-floor, 380 square metre project is a retrofit of an existing 1970s building and is conceived as a combination of clean lines overlaid with a façade that adds a layered texture, reflecting the depth and complexity of the upcycling, reuse, and regeneration that can be found throughout the city.
It’s more than sneakers, it’s more than sport. It’s Lagos rewriting the game, one bold step at a time.
ADIDAS Lagos Flagship Store is constructed using a combination of solid and perforated corrugated aluminium sheets traditionally used as roofing in Lagos’s mass housing projects; the striking façade also features LED linear lighting to illuminate the ridged surface, creating a dynamic and unexpected visual effect. In this way, simple and functional materials are elevated to create an optical illusion in which the level of transparency depends on the viewer’s distance from the building. This ingenious façade configuration means that the ADIDAS Lagos store has a a visible shop window, as well as ample natural sunlight that is sufficiently diffuse to prevent the interior from overheating.
In addition to the aluminium-clad façade, Oshinowo Studio’s approach involved adding a steel frame and glass extension, a solar power system, a sewage treatment plant with the capacity for the reuse of wastewater as irrigation, and an advanced air conditioning system. Existing 25-year-old Roystonea regia trees at the ADIDAS Lagos Store have been retained, alongside the installation of a new basketball half-court and stage for entertainment, which present opportunities for customer events and activations. The project also represents an opportunity for adidas, which also carried out the interior design and fit-out of the store, to collaborate with contemporary Nigerian artists Chinelo Ezewudo, Osa Okunkpolor, Dennis Osadebe, and Ayoola Gbolahan.
Tosin Oshinowo, Founder of Oshinowo Studio, said: “Our design is inspired by the city’s resilient, adaptable, and go-getter resolve, building a place of convergence for sports and culture.”
