Wahaab’s current work seeks to reveal how these continued legacies take form in the present in more complicated ways through politics of language, religions, ethnic, and socio-economic crisis. Focusing on the gradual state of decolonizing Black bodies, Wahaab seeks to celebrate black resilience and survival for he believes we have not yet escaped the past by the present-day realities.
Uthman Wahaab (B. 1983) is a multidisciplinary artist born in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. He lives and works between Lagos, Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He received a degree in Fine Art from the School of Art, Design and Printing under Yada College of Technology in Lagos.
Wahaab is an artist who possesses an overarching interest in social phenomenon and eschews a consistent use of medium or even singular aesthetic style. Utilising the disciplines of drawing, painting, graphic design, film, photography, sculpture and installation, Wahaab’s work positions a critical lens at social phenomenon not only within Africa; but also, globally. He is keenly critical of the impact of technology on shifting cultural structures and the complex conundrum of navigating traditional values and social economic progress.
Wahaab’s current work seeks to reveal how these continued legacies take form in the present in more complicated ways through politics of language, religions, ethnic, and socio-economic crisis. Focusing on the gradual state of decolonizing Black bodies, Wahaab seeks to celebrate black resilience and survival for he believes we have not yet escaped the past by the present-day realities.
To move forward in a globalised world, carefully examining the past and learning from historical lessons are of the utmost importance. The artist is truly committed to giving back to the community by exercising artistic agency to shed light on difficult and often tenuous political, economic, and social dynamics. The artist’s work provides a critical lens on social phenomena not only within Africa, but more significantly looks at the ways that globalism and post-colonialism complicate the African socials-cape.