collage series

SPOTLIGHT | ALARA'S NUANCED COLOURFUL COLLAGE AS METAPHOR FOR THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY

Olatunde Alara is quite outspoken on his feelings about the flaws in the African society, and especially on the pretentiousness of the Nigerian society. In an interview with him last year, he spoke against the commodification of art in the Lagos art scene and the lack of support for experimental art. On social media, he dishes harsh criticism with his art or memes and random visuals that align with his thoughts.  It seems that his mission is to disrupt and challenge the normalized false realities in the Nigerian society.

At the beginning of his art career four years ago, Olatunde Alara made small size collage works to comment on different social behaviors in the Nigerian society. Using cut-outs from comic books, fashion magazine, and ankara fabrics combined with ink on paper he made colorful caricature images with texts that hinted at the deceitful, sexist, classist, and consumerist nature of the Nigerian society.

Although not many people paid attention to him or his works then, some of the works found their way into Mania magazine as visuals for his writings on fashion and lifestyle. In 2016, as he made it close to the spotlight and became known for his anti-establishment pronouncements, six of the collage works were eventually sold to one collector.

See the complete collage series below.