Heritage of Becoming II by Olamilekan Okunade
Explore Mondoir Studio
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 42 x 48 in
Year: 2026
Price: $4600.00 USD
Status: available
I met Oluchi again after so many years that she left our neighborhood in Sango Ota, and she is now a tech babe—a successful one. Works at a very high-profile company that runs here and in the diaspora. Why did I document her in this series? I knew Oluchi from the beginning. I knew what other kids and I had access to back then, in the late 90s till early 2000s till we parted ways. Her mom and my own mother were best of friends which automatically makes us friends too, so if I said I knew Oluchi just know it's like I knew the back of my palm standard. I appreciate how she turned out after all the deprived opportunities and access to some level of luxury in life. Oluchi is now a point of contact for me, women have no barrier to whatever they set their mind to do, she singlehandedly does not let her society define her. She makes me proud when I see her again and this prompts me to make this about her and other women who do not allow a deep setback to hold them at a spot for all their lives.
Why collect this work?
A grid of colour blocks binds the sitter to an office-like setting while her poised gesture establishes portraiture, rather than technology, as the painting’s central force.
- The artist identifies the sitter as his childhood acquaintance Oluchi and describes her later career in technology as the work’s impetus. This personal account establishes a commemorative intention, though the painting carries that purpose through formal choices.
- In the supplied photograph, a turned gaze and raised hand interrupt the repeated rectangles of depicted books, screens and devices. Similar blocks cross figure and setting, yet the bright yellow vest and blue face keep the sitter visually distinct.
- The documented acrylic on canvas permits sharply separated areas of colour here. Gradual modelling gives way to adjacent squares, making the scene recall both mosaic construction and the pixel structure underlying digital images.
- Dated 2026 and titled Heritage of Becoming II, the painting connects individual remembrance with contemporary professional identity. It provides a focused basis for considering how portraiture can publicly register women’s presence in technology without reducing achievement to workplace equipment.
About the Artist
Olamilekan Okunade
Olamilekan Okunade is an artist on Mondoir Studio. Artistic discipline: painting. Based in Nigeria, NG.
Nationality: Nigerian
Geometry pattern| Constructivism Art| Pixilating Arts| Creating Piece with Acrylic on canvas Co-Founder @sipandpaintyourmentalhealth
