“For Yoruba Nigerians (which is my father’s people), cloth is still a very conscious part of the culture. Everyone is a degree of separation away from a weaver, a seamstress, a tailor, an embroiderer,” says Abiola Onabulé, where family, community, history, and matrilineal ancestry are of particular interest.

Influenced by her Yoruba Nigerian heritage, a region of south-western Nigeria, West Africa, London-based Abiola Onabulé uses cloth to cast light upon the value and contribution of women of the African diaspora who have contributed to world histories and culture, particularly those who were considered an outcast because of the path they chose. This is manifested in her collection, Heirloom.

Heirloom, an historical account of women who acted as witches, healers, and witch doctors, is showcased with the work of a select group of international designers, in “CLOTH, Construct, CULTURE: fashion builds a story” … Here is a preview, a sneak peek of the work of Abiola Onabulé.

Onabulé and I have known each other since her 2020 residency at London’s Design Museum Residency program.  And being familiar with her range of work, Heirloom, created in 2017, and featured in Vogue Italia May 2021, is ambitiously composed with historical and cultural references.

Building the collection led her to unpack the untold history of a segment of women dismissed from society, whose way of life was condemned, voices never heard.  Onabulé unmutes those voices, typically overshadowed by men, with compassion about their history: “I am particularly interested in looking at this through the female lens, trying to understand the histories of the women who came before me, who were able to lay out the path that I am then able to continue following, particularly because those women’s narratives are often eclipsed by the paternal narratives within a family tree. I am also particularly interested in this, in terms of women who choose or are forced to be outsiders within their community, which is a particularly lonely, complicated and vulnerable place for a woman to be, especially historically.”

With her research ranging from stories about witches of Salem, high priestesses of New Orleans, and witch doctors and healers of West Africa, Heirloom brings you into a world of voodoo dolls, wizardry, and magic. The technical complexity and quality of execution matches the concept. Upcycling secondhand finds, use of deadstock, natural fabric and yarns, is the basis of her cloth. Threadbare and worn looks reference the toughness and survival of these women. Hand-dyeing, painting, and bleaching convey pattern looks, echoing traditional Nigerian àdìrẹ methods.

More About Abiola Onabulé

@abiolaonabulé 
Featured in Vogue Italia 
Abiola Onabulé website

Abiola Onabulé’s interview during her residency at the Design Museum, London – The Power of Cloth and Why We Should Care | A Talk with Abiola Onabulé

Exhibition Details

CLOTH, Construct, CULTURE: fashion builds a story, curated by Rhonda P. Hill, 24 October 2023–24 January 2024, Parallax Art Center, Portland, Oregon, USA

Photo credit: Simon Armstrong for the University of Westminster, 2017