The power of one woman

An exhibition of early pen and ink works, delicate watercolours, acrylics, jewellery and Adire textiles by the Nigerian artist Chief Nike Davies-Okundaye is on show in London.
Feminine Power, 1994, Acrylic on canvasImage copyrightNike Davies-Okundaye




Feminine Power, 1994, Acrylic on canvas
Davies-Okundaye trained in Adire, a traditional indigo-dyed cloth worn by women in south-western Nigeria, and featuring hand-painted patterns of birds, shells, and geckos. She is credited with the contemporary revival of this once fading textile and batik industry.
Acrylic with brush on canvas, 2004Image copyrightNike Davies-Okundaye




Acrylic with brush on canvas, 2004
Some portraits by Joanna Lipper are also on show. Lipper first photographed Chief Nike Okundaye-Davies in Oshogbo, Nigeria, in 2010.
DETERMINATION, Oshogbo, Nigeria, 2010Image copyrightJoanna Lipper



'Determination', Oshogbo, Nigeria, 2010
"I was striving to illuminate Nike's dedication to the preservation and transmission of traditional Yoruba belief structures, art techniques and visual vocabularies to new generations," says Lipper of her series of portraits.
POWER Photograph by Joanna Lipper Oshogbo, Nigeria, 2010Image copyrightJoanna Lipper



'Power', Oshogbo, Nigeria, 2010
The photographs were originally part of a project on woman at work in Africa and features women and girls engaged in farming, politics, fashion, religious observance, academic study, social entrepreneurship, activism, family life and street life.
COLOUR OF LOVE Photograph by Joanna Lipper Oshogbo, Nigeria, 2010Image copyrightJoanna Lipper



'Colour of love', Oshogbo, Nigeria, 2010
"I wanted my photographs to reflect how Nike defines her status not through marriage or lineage as is the status quo in so many traditional, patriarchal cultures all around the world - but on the basis of her own artistic achievements, her independent professional identity and the resulting income that she herself has control over," says Lipper.
Nike Davies-Okundaye - The Power of One Woman - Featuring photographs by Joanna Lipper is on show at the Gallery of African Art GAFRA in London, until 6 February 2016.