G.A.S. Foundation is delighted to welcome Sola Olulode, a British–Nigerian artist for an immersive six-week residency at G.A.S. Lagos. Working across painting, drawing, printmaking, textiles, and installation, Sola is known for her richly tactile mixed-media surfaces and intimate figurative compositions grounded in themes of care, tenderness, and queer joy. Central to her practice is the language of Nigerian textile craft, particularly indigo dyeing, batik, and other resist techniques, which she integrates into her paintings to create expressive backgrounds and layered material narratives.
During her residency, Sola hopes to focus on expanding her research into Yoruba textile traditions and the cultural histories of adire. Her time in Lagos will include reading, archive visits, and site-based research, as well as workshops and engagements with local dyers and textile practitioners. Sola also plans to explore new materials, experiment with colour and resistance processes, and deepen her connection to the Nigerian creative community. The residency offers an opportunity to reconnect with the city her family originates from while deepening the technical and conceptual foundations of her practice. She views this period as a chance to develop a more confident and expansive body of work rooted in cultural expertise, craft lineages, and artistic networks embedded in the Lagos environment.
Faithful Leap, 2025. Indigo, batik, oil, glass beads on canvas (cropped). Image courtesy of the artist.
What is the current focus of your creative practice?
My practice is an exploration into materiality and the intimacy. Constructing a spacetime of care and tenderness, a location in which my figures can be away from the harsh realities of our world and in which relations are tethered through warmth and tactility. Central to my practice is Nigerian textile craft. Combining the process of resistance dyeing methods influenced by Adire cloth making with figurative mixed media painting to create scenes encapsulating joy and tenderness. I use batik and tie-dye techniques to form intricate lineal resistance patterns elevating my backgrounds and enhancing the figures. I'm interested in the vibrancy and contrast of putting different colours and materials in conversation with another.
A Game of Catch 2024. Dye, indigo, batik, wax, pastel, ink, charcoal and pigment on canvas (cropped). Image courtesy of the artist.
What drew you to apply for this residency and how do you think it will inform your wider practice?
I was drawn to this residency for its specific location in Lagos on one part on a personal level as this is where my family originate from and I'm curious to become more familiar with the city and culture. And also as my practice draws influence from many Nigerian artists and Nigerian craft practices. Having direct access to archives and experts in the areas where my practice is he residency to research deeper into the craft of Adire and connect with other Nigerian artists and expand my creative network.
In this moment I realised 2024. Dye, batik, wax, pastel, oil pastel, charcoal and pigment on canvas, (cropped). Image courtesy of the artist.
Can you give us an insight into how you hope to use the opportunity?
I will use the space and time the residency provides to expand my knowledge. I hope to use my time during to develop a stronger practice through experimentation with new materials I have not yet had access to.
ABOUT SOLA OLULODE
Sola Olulode is a British–Nigerian artist based in London. She received a BA in Fine Art Painting from the University of Brighton in 2018, followed by a graduate studio residency at Lewisham Art House. Her recent solo exhibitions include I’ve Got To Know You Now We May Never Meet Again at Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai (2025); Islands of the Blessed, Berntson Bhattacharjee Gallery, London (2024); and Could You Be Love, Sapar Contemporary, New York (2022). Select group exhibitions include Queer Love, Stephen Friedman, New York (2025); Conversations, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2024); Dreaming of Home, Leslie-Lohman Museum, New York (2023); and To Be Held, Carl Freedman Gallery, Margate (2023). Her work has also been presented at Victoria Miro x Out Collective, Lisson Gallery, and Wunika Mukan Gallery. In 2024, she was featured on the Hayward Gallery billboard commission.
Portrait of Sola Olulode. Photographer: Bernice Mulenga
Sola's resideny is generously supported through funding from Arts Council England.
