Ife
Multidisciplinary Artist & Sustainability Advocate
I am a self-taught multidisciplinary artist with over 20 years’ experience working at the intersection of art, design, sustainability, and community. My practice spans wall works, sculpture, wearable art, and commissions, each shaped by a commitment to giving discarded materials a renewed sense of purpose.
Working primarily with textile and plastic waste, I explore themes of identity, resilience, and transformation, finding meaning and beauty in what is often overlooked or discarded. At the heart of my work is an ongoing interest in how materials can be reshaped, reimagined, and given new life through creative process.
Alongside my studio practice, I design and facilitate workshops that use donated and found materials to encourage creative reuse, environmental awareness, and accessible making. These sessions often bring together galleries, schools, and community organisations, creating spaces where art becomes a tool for connection, wellbeing, and shared expression.
My work has been exhibited in Nigeria and the UK, and I continue to develop projects that sit at the crossroads of fine art, sustainable practice, and social engagement.
Delicate Resilience
Delicate Resilience (a solo exhibition) took place on March 20th at the Minories Gallery, UK, and embodies the essence of my artistic philosophy. Since beginning my journey as a self-taught eco-artist, I have been inspired by nature’s remarkable ability to adapt, evolve, and flourish in even the most challenging conditions.
This body of work explores the relationship between nature and human excess through the transformation of reclaimed plastics, discarded textiles, and wire into botanical-inspired forms. Drawing inspiration from plants that emerge through concrete and marine life that adapts to plastic-laden environments, the exhibition reflects nature’s quiet determination to survive and regenerate.
Each piece is created through processes of heat, fusion, stitching, and layering, allowing materials once considered waste to take on new life and meaning. The resulting forms exist between fragility and strength, beauty and burden, reflecting the complex coexistence of the natural and synthetic worlds.
More than an exploration of environmental issues, Delicate Resilience is a meditation on transformation, endurance, and hope. It invites viewers to reconsider what is overlooked, to find value in what has been discarded, and to recognise the enduring capacity for renewal in both nature and ourselves.
Selected Exhibitions & Residencies
Delicate Resilience — Solo Exhibition
The Minories Art Gallery, Colchester, UK
International Women’s Day Art Exhibition — “The Power of Many”
The Minories Art Gallery, Colchester, UK
Rice & Spice Festival — Workshops
Colchester, UK
Rice & Spice Festival — Workshops
Colchester, UK
Art Exhibition & 55th Birthday Celebration
Deputy Swiss Ambassador, Abuja, Nigeria
Upcycle Redefined — Art Residency & Exhibition
Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, Nigeria
Coca-Cola World Without Waste Launch Exhibition
Lagos, Nigeria
British American Tobacco Sustainability Week
Lagos & Ibadan, Nigeria
Community Engagement & Workshops
Lead Instructor, Eco Textile School
Textile Collective CIC, Colchester — designs and delivers creative sustainability workshops using donated materials. Supports participants in developing confidence, mindfulness, and creative skills through textile reuse.
Workshop Facilitator, Women Assemble Colchester
The Minories Gallery, Colchester — led collaborative textile workshops producing the Suffolk puff quilted banner “I-W-D.”
Arts & Craft Facilitator
Street Project Foundation, Abuja, Nigeria — developed the “Waste to Wealth” curriculum. Mentored youth on upcycling techniques and environmental awareness.
Selected Collaborations & Partnerships
- Textile Collective CIC, Colchester
- The Minories Art Gallery, Colchester
- International Institute for Creative Development (IICD), Abuja
- U.S. Embassy Abuja
- Recycle Points Nigeria
- Coca-Cola Nigeria
- British American Tobacco Nigeria
Upcoming
Delicate Resilience — Solo Exhibition
The Minories Art Gallery, Colchester, UK. An exploration of fragility and strength through reclaimed materials and sustainable art practice.
Past
International Women’s Day Art Exhibition
The Minories Art Gallery, Colchester, UK. “The Power of Many” — a group exhibition celebrating women’s creativity and community.
Rice & Spice Festival — Workshops
Colchester, UK. Interactive sustainability workshops exploring textile reuse and upcycling.
Upcycle Redefined — Residency & Exhibition
Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, Nigeria.