Suwe by Deolu Femi
Explore Mondoir Studio
Medium: Paper
Dimensions: 36 x 48 in
Year: 2025
Price: $1700.00 USD
Status: available
Growing up, the game of Suwe (similar to the American game “hopscotch”) was more than lines on the ground and the toss of a stone or “slate”. It was a gathering place, filled claps and laughter, a small stage where children learned balance not only with their feet but with life itself. For many of us, mastering Suwe felt like crossing a hidden bridge into belonging, a rite of passage. This artwork carries the memory of those afternoons and days when play was our first teacher. Through Suwe, children discovered patience, courage, fairness, and joy. We learned how to wait our turn, how to compete with laughter, and how to celebrate even in losing. The squares became more than a playground, they became a map of identity, shaping who we grew to be. “Suwe” is not just a childhood memory, it is part of our shared African story, a reminder that in the simplest games lived the deepest lessons of community, resilience, and imagination. Series Title: Before PlayStation and Xbox Artwork Title: Suwe Dimensions: 3 x 4 ft Art Type: Paper Layering (2D relief sculpture) Medium: Cardstock and acrylic Date: September, 2025
Why collect this work?
A lifted foot, an open hand and an angled floor grid make suspended balance the central event in this scene of children playing Suwe.
- Femi states that he uses layered paper to reconstruct memories of Nigerian everyday life. Here, the bodily concentration of play gives that concern a specific form without requiring nostalgia to carry the image.
- The left child occupies the grid diagonally, balancing on one leg, while the second child stands beyond the marked squares. Their contrasting poses separate active turn from attentive pause, presenting the game as both individual test and shared occasion.
- The catalogue identifies cardstock and acrylic arranged as a two-dimensional relief. In the supplied image, nested contours define faces, limbs and clothing; shallow separation from the pale ground turns cut edges into emphatic lines and makes the figures appear crisply staged.
- The title preserves the name Suwe, while the artist’s description compares the game to hopscotch. Keeping that distinction visible positions childhood play as culturally situated knowledge, learned through movement, rules and watching others take a turn.
About the Artist
Deolu Femi
Deolu Femi is an artist on Mondoir Studio. Artistic discipline: mixed-media (paper layering and paper quilling). Based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Nationality: Nigerian
My work is a reflection on memory, daily activities, experiences and the ways our experiences shape who we are.
