Adeyinka Alake Verified listing

This piece is about what culture feels and looks like to me. My Nigerian name carries royal meaning which inspired me to incorporate the style of the Ile Ife Bronze heads. As the daughter of Nigerian immigrant parents, I was born and raised in London. My childhood was sipping English breakfast tea in a sippy cup, my mum’s beans on toast, endless Hubba Bubba gum, and my beloved Milky Way Crispy Rolls. As I got older, I became more aware of the culture of complaint, the grey skies, the limited sunshine, and the feeling of working tirelessly with little reward. Whether people are living for the weekend, saving to buy a house, or hunting for the cheapest flight out for a few days of escape, Then I think back to my first trip to Nigeria at the age of six. I’ll never forget the taste of suya, unwrapping the newspaper, taking a piece of meat and a slice of onion with every bite. My go-to meal in school was Indomie noodles, chopped onions, pepper, spices, simple, but rich in flavour. More importantly, I enjoyed myself. As culturally diverse as London is, at times I wonder, will we ever truly belong? No matter how British I sound… “But where are you really from?” Yet in Nigeria, as long as you look and sound Nigerian, no one bats an eyelid. Still, over there, I am “oyinbo” a foreigner. But who cares when the sun is shining? Of course, life in Nigeria isn’t without its own struggles. But despite the challenges, there’s an undeniable vibrancy one that I’ve always admired. The sun shines, the food is fresh, and the spirit of the people is unwavering. Ultimately, I know I am royal. I know my heart, and I have a strong sense of who I am. When I feel as though I am losing parts of one side or the other, I remember…I can never lose who I am. What I am will always be.

This piece came from a place of trauma and acceptance. A rebellion against people pleasing and my first step to saying yes to myself, doing what feels right deep within. Saying no to a career my soul could not adhere to. Becoming un-numb to things I did not want to be numb to. Looks of disapproval followed by actions of projected pain, ill health, closed eyes, life events and wanting to be seen as I try to articulate the pain, all to come back to the only way out. Acceptance. Absorbing all the hurt and transmuting it into my power, my bravery and the start of my new story. Once I accepted it all including the part I played in my own suffering only then was I born a new. Better, wiser and raw.

This piece will remain up to interpretation but here are a few subtle questions to get you thinking. How can one express the feeling of seeing beauty in a sadness of sunset memories meeting back here to this full circle moment? How does one show what unspoken depth feels like, something that is hard to describe? Is this the start or the end? Are there patterns that will be repeated or is this stepping into growth? Sometimes time heals but oftentimes, work must be done.

This piece conceptualises the experience of gradually understanding someone who has always been misunderstood. Seeing their strength and stubbornness even when their external presents a soft and bold demeanour. Not knowing how to react to the intensity of their mixed emotions and one day finally seeing them as they are. Finally looking at them without the surrounding noise. All the abrupt clashes and drastically escalated frustrations, all the painful words and rage simmering down into sadness. Coming to terms with the fact that not everyone has all the resources they need to effectively express their experience or their worlds to us. They may not even understand it themselves. They are just as they have always been.

This piece captures the past, present and possibly the future of the experience of having a father figure. The black symbolising the beginning and the end and the gradient circle representing warm memories and experiencing a full circle moment. Sometimes it may feel as though we are chasing the memories of who he was and we may even find ourselves contemplating if that was truly him deep down or just the version we grew to know. As children we are shielded from adult drama and even after many years new truths still surface. Now, within this moment that we are truly seeing him he is no longer there, just his memories. Whether that be physically or simply just the idea of who he once was to us. Gone...But when you look in the mirror parts of him remain. May he be the spirit that guides. No matter the experience good or bad, we learn from all things.