Olu Ogunnaike

The practice of Olu Ogunnaike (*1986 London, lives in London) comprises the production of sculptures, objects, prints, installations, and performances. The starting point for his work is the material of wood, which forms the core of his artistic idioms, permitting reflection on themes that are hard to grasp — such as origin, identity, work, and the global circulation of people and goods. Ogunnaike’s work illuminates the relationships between these inseparable issues that shape our understanding of ourselves. Collective history and also private experiences enter into the artist’s works, for which the setting where they are shown becomes the starting point for narration. In Domestic Drama the artist presents a dining table made of various local indigenous woods in collaboration with the Graz carpenters Hafen 52. The table top includes an insert made of a special piece of wood that bears the image of a dining table of the kind that might be found all over the world. When printing this Ogunnaike did not use normal paint, but rather charcoal dust on glue to stick it down. With this charcoal dust, a material that represents the final form of wood, he creates images that represent sociability and togetherness. At the same time the artist subtly asks whether nature and landscape can really contribute to forming identity.