Cultural Crowns

Artwork story

Cultural Crowns — Irun Kiko is a series inspired by the women I grew up with as a 90s child. My mother was an ondiri, so I watched women gather around her to have their hair threaded into elaborate irun kiko. What began as a familiar childhood sight gradually became art to me. I began to see the sectioning and threading as a form of drawing and sculpture, carrying identity, beauty, social status, lineage, and life stages. These five paintings reinterpret irun kiko through a contemporary lens, celebrating African women who carry culture proudly on their heads. The series is my reflection on bla

Cultural Crowns — Irun Kiko is motivated by my childhood memories and my fascination with the women I grew up around. As a 90s child, I was drawn to the elaborate beauty of irun kiko, the traditional Yoruba hair-threading technique. My mother was an ondiri, and I watched women visit her stand to have their hair beautifully sectioned and threaded. What was once simply a hairstyle gradually became a visual language to me.

Style & Theme

The series explores African identity, feminine beauty, cultural memory, and heritage. I see the threaded hair as more than decoration; it is a crown that carries stories of womanhood, lineage, social identity, and different stages of life. My geometric approach transforms the patterns of the hair into sculptural and architectural forms, blending traditional aesthetics with contemporary visual expression.

Process

I begin by studying the structure, rhythm, and patterns created through sectioning and threading. I then translate these patterns into my interlocking geometric language, building the female figures gradually with acrylic paint. The process of dividing, connecting, and layering forms reflects the patience and precision involved in creating the hairstyles themselves.

Reference

My primary references are Yoruba culture, the women of my childhood, traditional hairstyles, personal memories, and contemporary African beauty.