PORTRAIT & POWER: HOW TP4STYLE’S AFRO-WELSH VISION ENTERED THE PERMANENT ARCHIVE OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF WALES

By Tolulope Oke

A work exploring identity, belonging and the meeting of two cultures earns its place in one of Wales’ most prestigious national institutions

When the National Library of Wales published an open call for submission to artists across the country under the theme Portrait & Power, urging creatives to rethink what power means in contemporary Wales, it was a significant challenge. The National Library, one of the United Kingdom’s six legal deposit libraries and the protector of Wales’ written and visual legacy, does not take commissions lightly. Selected works would be presented, permanently archived, and included in the national record. From a competitive field judged by leading art critics and industry professionals, only two projects were shortlisted, commissioned and permanently archived. One of them belonged to Temitope Ogunseitan – TP4STYLE.

Portrait & Power is the result of collaboration between the visual artist, Ogunseitan, and photographer Taiye Omokore, who brought the final concept to life with his lens. The image, which is now housed in the National Library of Wales’ permanent archive and accessible via the CELF platform, depicts a figure against an extraordinary layering of visual references: Ankara fabric backgrounds rich in African pattern and history, Welsh cultural signifiers such as the traditional Welsh hat, and a carefully chosen palette of red, white, and green drawn directly from the Welsh national flag. It is a work that could only have been created by someone standing exactly where Ogunseitan is: between two cultures, at ease in both yet completely possessed by neither.

Ogunseitan’s contribution to this project stands out since it is so extensive. He did not design an outfit and then step back. He created the visual concept for the finished artwork. Before cutting any fabric or taking a photograph, he created a detailed illustrated mood board, which was a digital painting that conveyed the concept. This was not a photograph; rather, it was a thorough visual representation of an idea, displaying how the subject, fabric, colour, background, and cultural symbols would all work together to create a single coherent message.

From there, he developed a colour scheme and palette with cultural and emotional resonance. The red, white, and green hues of the Welsh flag were not chosen at random; they were structurally designed to fit into the overall visual logic of the arrangement. The Ankara cloth backdrop, which has deep roots in African history and culture, was selected and arranged to compliment the subject’s Welsh hat. Multiple layers of fabric were meticulously applied, each portraying a unique feature of modern Wales’ diverse environment.

“The dialogue comes to life as we incorporated African fabric backdrop and a Welsh hat, merging two cultures into one art statement,” Ogunseitan explains. “It is a connection between my heritage and my new adopted home.”

He also drew directly from his previously presented piece, The Colour Theory, which explored how colour interacts with space, and applied the same conceptual framework here while expanding it to add obvious cultural significance. The Colour Theory looked at the psychological effects of colour on daily life and personal well-being. Portrait & Power tackles the same issue on a national and identity-defining level. How does colour use space? How does it exemplify belonging? How does it convey power?

The visual language of the finished product is rich and intentional. The Ankara fabric, which has long been utilised across Africa as a silent language of status, storytelling, and community, compels attention with its warmth and presence.

The layered materials in the front represent adaptability – the feeling of creating a life in a new location without losing the one you came from. Wearing the Welsh hat with ease symbolises arrival rather than displacement. Not assimilation, but integration.
This distinction, the contrast between absorbed and spoken culture is what gives Portrait & Power its special relevance. The artwork does not need the subject to make a decision. It illustrates the experience of two identities coexisting in the same space, both confident and proud
Omokore’s photography captures this with what the project notes call “the precision of an art editorial and the soul of a historical portrait.” The image’s area feels alive, pulsing with the energy of two dissimilar worlds merging in a lovely beat.
The commission’s importance has increased since its founding.

The project has been listed on the CELF platform, the Arts Council of Wales’ national arts directory, and the photograph has been added to the National Library of Wales’ permanent archive, where it will become part of the national record on March 2, 2026.

In a clear reflection of the project’s excellence, it is currently being utilised as a reference piece for the National Library’s next open call, with photographer Taiye Omokore nominated to the panel of judges screening new artists for the upcoming commission. A work that was chosen through a competitive process is now the benchmark against which new work will be assessed.

For Ogunseitan, this is fully in line with his overall approach to practice. His work doesn’t just exist and disappear. It builds, becoming a body of evidence that testifies to an artist of rising national and international importance, one whose work is based on cultural identification, community, and the belief that art belongs everywhere, not just on gallery walls.

Temitope Ogunseitan (TP4STYLE) is a UK-based
Multidisciplinary visual artist and designer
Project Details Project Title: Portrait & Power (Dyfodol Du
— Black Future)
Visual Artist: Temitope Ogunseitan (TP4STYLE)
Photographer: Taiye Omokore Outcome: Commissioned, exhibited and permanently archived at the National Library of Wales Archive Date: 2 March 2026 Listed on: CELF — Arts Council of Wales National Arts Platform (celfarycyd.wales)