lani adeoye

Furniture designer, nigeria

Lani adeoye is driven by conceptual curiosity, cultural expression, empathy and a thirst for innovation. ‘I use design as a mediation tool, to connect seemingly opposing worlds. To merge art, craft and design, to seek synergy between tradition and innovation, and to express heritage through contemporary lenses.’

her versatility as a designer is a testament to her eclectic roots and diverse life experiences, having lived in Lagos,

Montreal, Toronto, and new York. a‘ s an artistic designer, my work oftentimes expresses my sense of identity. The core of my identity was formed being raised in nigeria, but growing up in nigeria as a young girl, I didn’t have to be as conscious of what being nigerian meant. But moving to canada and often being the token Black person, I was conditioned to have a heightened sense of identity and I also became quite aware of many misconceptions about my culture,’ she says. a‘ cknowledging I was different within that context, I began to get more acquainted with the various layers of my Identity. Being viewed as

“Black” when I was with my caucasian friends or “african” around my caribbean friends or viewed as “nigerian” amongst my friends from other african countries.’

The main influencers of her work are her roots, her identity as an afropolitan, along with her overall curious and optimistic approach to living in a complicated world. ‘People often view creativity coming from africa in a monolithic way. africa is such a vast continent with very diverse countries. Through my designs, I hope to share a different perspective; as I tend to focus more on form and rhythm. I’ve always appreciated our sculptural sensibility; from the way we sculpt our head ties, to our explorative hairstyles; to the actual traditional woodcarvings. This sculptural sensibility is something I’m quite connected to and explore in various collections.’