Reinforcing Communal Spirit Through Ogunlende’s Ingenious String Art

Yinka Olatunbosun

Communal spirit has always been a powerful aspect of African identity and culture. Indeed, community ties and relationships are very evident in many African cultures as the individual is seen as part of a larger web of connections, while the well-being of the community is prioritised.

For an African in diaspora, this becomes more obvious than ever as he navigates a new cultural landscape. A case in point is the UK-based Nigerian string artist, sculptor and arts facilitator, Omotoyosi Ogunlende also known as “theKraftzone,” who relives the African connectivity experience through string capturing a collective journey through social consciousness. Using thread that is woven through nails on a board as a metaphor for his embedded messages, Omotoyosi creates eye-catching masterpieces that are unique. His meticulous process of hammering nails into a board in a grid pattern followed years of practice that involved blending styles and media.

By combining various elements of sculpture and painting, this string method, makes Ogunlende a triple threat of sorts: adept at material experimentation, portraiture, and creating socially engaged art.

Ogunlende, who studied fine art and sculpture at Yaba College of Technology Lagos, honed his skills in string art after attending an art conference in South Africa in 2016. Since then, he has created over 50 pieces including detailed portraits of iconic people like Bob Marley, Bolanle Austen-Peters, Late Hubert Wigwe and more. After being selected as the BE OPEN Art, Artist of the Month for June 2025, spotlight fell again on the works that have shaped his practice in recent years.

Typically, he creates detailed, textured, and colourful portraits of faces, including icons in the global cultural space. Consider Bob Marley (2019), a string art portrait that pays homage to Bob Marley, a Jamaican global icon of reggae music. With this piece, Ogunlende explores global cultural history to tell the story of unity through music in the eyes of the activist-singer. Marley’s music represents a movement; a tool for promoting the Rastafarian culture which hinges on social consciousness and cohesiveness as well as other universal messages of peace, unity, and collective resistance against oppression. The red, yellow, and green color palette constitutes the Rastafarian symbolism representing the blood of African ancestors, the wealth of the land, and vegetation respectively. The artist’s intricate black string work captures Marley’s distinctive features and the depth of his legacy. Using String art, Ogunlende mirrored how Marley’s music built connections across communities, continents and cultures over time.

Abami Eda (2019) is a piece that captures the legendary Afrobeat music pioneer and Pan-African, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti also known as Abami Eda, meaning the ‘mystery person.’ By building into a raw oriented strand board, the artist documents the people’s hero, a disruptor who, ironically, is a voice for the unity of the Africans. To articulate the relevance of Fela in building community, Ogunlende wove fractured parts into wholeness: rough wood grounds us in home, black defines his presence, grey holds his complexity, and red with his fire. Nostalgia kicks in. Kalakuta, a commune created by Fela is a metaphor for unity, togetherness and guided by African philosophy. The work, this, serves as a testament to Fela’s legacy forged from raw material and purpose thus reinstating the place of legends in public consciousness.

With the piece, Newspaper Man (2020), Ogunlende weaves together the intimate usage of thread/ string as both line and visual metaphor for the contours of a life of struggle and hustle, shaped by its time.

Using string art to merge individual identity with collective history, Ogunlende assembled countless threads, layered with pages from newspapers that tell stories of crisis and change that shape lives. Like the tension holding each string in place, the viewer is invited to find a balance between private lives and the world around us. The subject’s smile is a quiet testament to resilience amid socio-economic fracture. He has produced significant works for major institutions, including a massive 6ft by 6ft string art logo for the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA).

Beyond string art, Ogunlende is versatile with metal sculpture, acrylic painting, murals, installations, and live art performances, tailoring his approaches to diverse contexts and audiences. This versatility enables him to navigate seamlessly between gallery exhibitions, public art spaces, corporate commissions, festivals, and community-based settings. A notable sculpture project is the metal drum installation commissioned for the 2022 opening of the JK Randle Centre in Onikan, by then President of Nigeria, Muhammad Buhari (GCFRN).

Since the early 2000s, Ogunlende has exhibited widely. In Lagos, his work has been presented at venues including Didi Museum, Goethe Institute, Nimbus Art Gallery, Harlequin Gallery, Terra Kulture, and Silverbird. Internationally, his practice has been showcased in Ghana, Brazil, and the United Kingdom, with recent presentations in Belfast at ArtsForAll Gallery, Oh Yeah Centre, and through live string art events. Global online exhibitions have further broadened his reach.

His commissioned works span diverse formats and clients: portraits include prominent figures in banking, entertainment, governance, and culture, with partners such as Sterling Bank, Access Bank, Wema Bank, Heritage Bank, cultural icon Bolanle Austen-Peters, international personalities, and private collectors. These pieces attest to his ability to distill personality and presence into textured, meaningful visual representations. He has also completed public and commercial commissions including Eko Hotel Christmas installations, corporate creative projects, and televised segments such as the Arts ‘n’ Craft show on TVC Lagos.

In addition to artistic production, Ogunlende has held significant administrative and curatorial roles. At Terra Kulture—a premier cultural institution in Nigeria—he served as Craft Shop Supervisor, Gallery Curator, and Events Coordinator, gaining experience in exhibition management, artwork conservation, artist collaboration, and cultural programming. From 2020 to 2023, he held the role of Arts Director at the Lagos Fringe Festival, curating multidisciplinary programming and supporting emerging artists and innovative practices in Nigeria.

An artist that’s deeply invested in arts education and social impact, he has facilitated workshops, masterclasses, and community initiatives with children, youth, and marginalised groups in Nigeria and the UK. His work—including public workshops, school programmes, and collaborative murals—promotes art as a tool for empowerment, confidence building, and social dialogue.

His nomination for Best Emerging Artist at the 2017 ACE Awards attests to his growing stature in the creative industry.

As a Global Arts in Medicine Fellow, his creative practice helps him bridge the gap between art and wellness. His efforts include Arts in health initiatives, hospital mural projects, and global platforms addressing topics such as gender equality, community health, and sustainable development.