Reinforcing Communal Spirit Through String Art

Yinka Olatunbosun

Communal spirit has long been central to African identity and culture. Across the continent, the individual is understood not as an isolated unit but as part of a larger web of relationships in which collective wellbeing takes precedence. Community is not merely social structure; it is philosophy.

For Africans in the diaspora, this interconnectedness often becomes even more pronounced when navigating unfamiliar cultural terrains. Such is the case with UK-based Nigerian string artist, sculptor and arts facilitator Omotoyosi Ogunlende, also known as theKraftzone. Through the tensile language of thread stretched across carefully plotted nails, he revisits African connectivity, capturing shared journeys through a lens of social consciousness.

Using thread woven meticulously through nails hammered into board surfaces, Ogunlende constructs striking visual metaphors. The process is labour-intensive and exacting: a grid of nails is methodically embedded before strands of coloured thread are layered to build depth, shadow and movement. Years of experimentation across styles and media underpin this disciplined practice. By fusing elements of sculpture and painting, Ogunlende has positioned himself as something of a triple threat — adept in material experimentation, portraiture and socially engaged art.

A graduate of Fine Art and Sculpture from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Ogunlende refined his string technique following an art conference in South Africa in 2016. Since then, he has produced more than fifty works, including detailed portraits of figures such as Bob Marley, Bolanle Austen-Peters and the late Herbert Wigwe. His selection as BE OPEN Art’s Artist of the Month in June 2025 once again directed attention to a practice that continues to evolve in ambition and scope.

Ogunlende is particularly drawn to culturally resonant icons. In Bob Marley (2019), he pays homage to the Jamaican reggae legend whose music became a vehicle for global unity. The portrait deploys Rastafarian red, gold and green — symbolising ancestral sacrifice, the wealth of the land and its vegetation — while intricate black threading defines Marley’s unmistakable features. The tension and interweaving of strands mirror the connective power of Marley’s music, which transcended borders and forged solidarity across continents.

Similarly, Abami Eda (2019) honours the Afrobeat pioneer and Pan-Africanist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, whose sobriquet translates as “the strange one” or “spirit”. Constructed on raw oriented strand board, the work embodies both disruption and cohesion. Rough wood grounds the piece in an earthy immediacy; black thread asserts presence; grey suggests complexity; red evokes fire and defiance. By weaving fractured visual elements into a unified whole, Ogunlende gestures towards Fela’s paradoxical legacy: a radical dissenter who nonetheless championed collective African consciousness. The reference to Kalakuta Republic — Fela’s communal enclave — underscores unity as lived philosophy rather than abstract ideal.

In Newspaper Man (2020), Ogunlende explores the intimate relationship between private endurance and public history. Layers of thread intersect with collaged newspaper pages chronicling crisis and change. The tautness of each strand becomes metaphor for the tensions that shape everyday survival. Yet the subject’s restrained smile suggests resilience amid socio-economic fracture — a quiet insistence on dignity within turbulence.

His technical confidence has also translated into large-scale commissions, including a six-foot by six-foot string art logo for the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA). Beyond string art, Ogunlende works fluidly across metal sculpture, acrylic painting, murals, installations and live performance. This adaptability enables him to move seamlessly between gallery exhibitions, public art, corporate commissions and community-led projects.

Among his notable sculptural undertakings is a metal drum installation commissioned for the 2022 opening of the JK Randle Centre in Onikan, inaugurated by Nigeria’s then President, Muhammadu Buhari. Since the early 2000s, Ogunlende has exhibited extensively. In Lagos, his work has appeared at Didi Museum, Goethe-Institut, Nimbus Art Gallery, Harlequin Gallery, Terra Kulture and Silverbird. Internationally, he has shown in Ghana, Brazil and the United Kingdom, including recent presentations in Belfast at ArtsForAll Gallery and the Oh Yeah Centre, alongside live string-art performances. Online exhibitions have further amplified his global reach.

His commissioned portraiture spans banking, entertainment, governance and the cultural sector, with clients including Sterling Bank, Access Bank, Wema Bank and Heritage Bank, as well as private collectors and public figures. These works demonstrate his ability to distil personality into textured, layered compositions that feel at once intimate and monumental. Commercial projects have included festive installations at Eko Hotel and televised appearances on TVC Lagos’s Arts ‘n’ Craft.

Ogunlende’s contribution extends beyond studio production. At Terra Kulture, one of Nigeria’s leading cultural institutions, he served in multiple capacities — Craft Shop Supervisor, Gallery Curator and Events Coordinator — acquiring experience in exhibition management, conservation, artist liaison and cultural programming. From 2020 to 2023, he was Arts Director of the Lagos Fringe Festival, curating multidisciplinary programming and championing emerging voices within Nigeria’s contemporary arts scene.

Deeply invested in arts education and social impact, Ogunlende facilitates workshops and masterclasses for children, young people and marginalised communities in both Nigeria and the UK. Through school programmes, collaborative murals and public workshops, he advances art as a vehicle for empowerment, confidence-building and social dialogue.

His nomination for Best Emerging Artist at the 2017 ACE Awards signalled early industry recognition. More recently, as a Global Arts in Medicine Fellow, he has expanded his practice into the intersection of creativity and wellbeing. Through hospital murals, arts-in-health initiatives and international platforms addressing gender equality, community health and sustainable development, Ogunlende continues to demonstrate that art — like the threads he stretches across his boards — can bind individuals into a shared human fabric.

In Ogunlende’s hands, string becomes more than medium. It becomes metaphor: for tension and release, fracture and repair, individuality and communion. Above all, it reaffirms an enduring African truth — that we are strongest when woven together.