A Presentation of Works Exploring Food Culture, Labour, and the Symbolic Power of the Hoe
Nigerian interdisciplinary artist Olufela Omokeko, whose practice examines pressing sociocultural issues through performance, installation, photo-video art, and social practice, recently concluded an eight-week residency at the G.A.S. Farm House in Ikise. During his time there, he focused on the disappearance of local food cultures and the preservation of traditional farming knowledge, exploring these themes through a multi-sensory engagement with land, labour, and sustenance. Drawing inspiration from Ebenezer Obey’s 1976 song Operation Feed the Nation, Olufela reimagined the hoe, a key Yoruba agricultural tool, as both a sculptural and symbolic element that honours the resilience and cultural presence of farmers.
As his residency concluded, Olufela hosted Hoe Courtyard on October 3rd, 2025, welcoming fellow residents, G.A.S. staff, members of the local community, and collaborators who had contributed to his research. The event centred around a site-specific exhibition in which farm tools, market imagery and poetry were transformed into interactive sculptures. The installations spread throughout the Farm House’s living room and hallways, creating an immersive environment of sound, poetry, and tactile engagement, inviting guests to explore the complex relationships between sustenance, labour, and cultural memory.
During the presentation, Olufela discussed his Hoe Courtyard, an ongoing project that expands upon his earlier exhibition Ayetoro: Field of Gold, Rivers of Black, which brought attention to the struggles of a fishing community in Ondo State, Nigeria, people who continue to “suffer and smile” in the face of oil pollution that has devastated their rivers and livelihoods. In Hoe Courtyard, Olufela extends these concerns into a broader reflection on labour, land, and sustenance. The courtyard weaves together market imagery and poetry drawn from Lagos and Ijebu, transforming agricultural tools, hoes, pepper sculptures, oil drums, and lambebe (metal tray) into sculptural forms that hold both memory and resistance. Through these objects, he invites reflection on food insecurity, the decline of agriculture since the discovery of oil, and the enduring knowledge embedded in indigenous farming traditions.
The evening also featured a poetic performance by Àrẹ̀mọ Gemini (Yusuf Àlàbí Balógun), a poet, storyteller, and Yorùbá cultural specialist, whose presentation reflected on hunger and social inequality, urging empathy for those driven to desperate acts in times of scarcity.
The event concluded with Olufela guiding guests through the installations, encouraging close engagement with the works and reflection on the histories, sounds, and textures embedded in each piece. Through the residency, Olufela transformed everyday farm tools into a layered, interactive dialogue on cultural resilience, memory, and the ongoing relevance of traditional practices in contemporary life.
About the Artist
Olufela Omokeko
Olufela Omokeko is an interdisciplinary Nigerian artist whose practice interrogates pressing sociocultural issues through performance, installation, photo-video art, and social practice. Since transitioning to full-time artistic work in 2019 following an alternative art education in Lagos, he has established himself as a compelling voice examining the intersection of personal and collective experience in contemporary Nigerian society. His work explores themes such as psycho-social dynamics, mortality, food insecurity, violence, and ecological challenges. This is evident in his solo exhibitions Masquerading Plastic (2019) and Ilarun (2019), noted for unconventional conceptual frameworks. His installation art pieces Son of Pepper Seller further his commitment to visual storytelling that centers Nigerian narratives. Olufela's recent project, Ayetoro: Field of Gold and Rivers of Black — his third Goethe-Institut grant — underscores this recognition. Working between organic and contemporary media, his practice combines deep community engagement with reflection on Nigeria’s evolving social fabric.
