Samuel Nnorom

Born in Nigeria in 1990, Samuel Nnorom is a multi-award-winning artist whose work poetically crosses tapestry-like sculpture and pre-loved Ankara wax fabric. Since early childhood, elements that now shape his contemporary practice have surrounded him: sketching portraits of customers who visited his father’s shoe shop and playing with colorful scraps from his mother’s tailoring workshop crystallized his artistic vocation.

The self-proclaimed “custodian of material culture”, Nnorom draws upon materiality in a unique way, dedicating his art to textile reutilizing and a sociological reflection on the human condition. Through sewing, tying and cutting, the rising artist creates intricate constellations of fabric-covered foam balls meticulously stitched together, evoking a metaphor for a “fabric of society” composed of closed social structures forming the bubbles in which our daily lives are wrapped in. Using Ankara textiles – whose origins are complex in the history of the continent, Nnorom explores its protean symbolism and reappropriates a contemporary fabric omnipresent in his community.

Currently living and working in Nsukka, Samuel Nnorom holds an MFA in sculpture from the University of Nigeria, UNN Nsukka. He runs numerous workshops and residencies in England, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Nigeria.

Recent solo exhibitions include: Truth and Conspiracy, Primo Marella Gallery, Milano, Italy, 2023; Samuel Nnorom: Emotional Catch, Tiwani Contemporary, Lagos, Nigeria; Points of Departure, Galerie Art Mûr 5826, rue St-Hubert Montréal, Canada, 2023; Politics of Clothes, The Mitochondria Gallery, Houston TX, USA, 2023; Politics of Fabrics, an Expository solo exhibition, The Guest Artist Space G.A.S., Yinka Shonibare Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria, 2023; Immigration and Integration, The Art House, Wakefield, UK. Nnorom is also the global prize winner of the “Art for Change Award 2022” organized by M&C Saatchi and Saatchi Group.

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