Originally published by Architectural Digest, here’s an inside look at the brutalist artist residency and retreat of British Nigerian multidisciplinary artist Yinka Shonibare’s, located in Oniru, Lagos.
The 3 story structure was designed by the artist himself in close collaboration with Ghanaian British architect Elsie Owusu and Nigerian architect and interior designer Nihinlola Shonibare (his sister-in-law). The scheme blends traditional Yoruba and Brutalist design principles and elements, drawing inspiration from Tadao Ando, as well as Le Corbusier’s iconic Villa Savoye.
Nigeria is a fairly conservative culture, and I want artists to feel that they can actually move beyond the boundaries of what’s expected of them, to start thinking outside of the box…. You have a space in which you can experiment, and hopefully being able to explore without financial pressures will then lead to discovery.”
The Space is home to not just the artist himself (while he’s in Lagos away from his London base) but also his Guest Artists Space (G.A.S.) Foundation founded in 2019. The design is focused around a central courtyard which functions as a community gathering ground and performance space. It also features an elevator and an outdoor steel ramp (discreetly concealed behind a lacelike concrete façade designed by the artist) that runs the length of the building’s exterior, providing easy access for Mr. Shonibare to his primary suite and adjacent therapy pool as well as a rooftop garden.
G.A.S. Foundation is one of a handful of artist-led project spaces that have opened across West Africa in recent years: Kehinde Wiley’s Black Rock in Dakar, Amoako Boafo’s dot. ateliers in Accra, and Ibrahim Mahama’s Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art in Tamale, to name a few.
You can read the full article on architectural digest here. Photography courtesy Yagazie Emezi.
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