Why are we still here? part 1

Artist’s statement:

Feyisola Adeyemi is a Nigerian-Irish multidisciplinary artist, environmentalist and surrealist fashion designer based in the UK. Feyi’s practices centre on sculpture and the integration of textile waste upcycling. Feyi also enjoys experimenting with printmaking, hand-crafting, painting, installation, body and performance art.

Feyi’s fashion design background led to her art practice, which she pursued in the quest for perfection for her self-taught design career. She aimed to use her craft to impact the community at large positively. Her work draws inspiration from nature, societal issues, and the surrounding environment. Hence, her interest in tackling textile landfill waste by repurposing discarded clothing in her work.

Feyi's work explores Black cultural history, colonialism, Black joy, social change and climate action. Feyi is also an advocate for fighting against animal testing.

Artwork Description :

Kantamanto is one of the world's biggest secondhand clothing markets, recently destroyed by a fire outbreak. However, the question remains: Why is waste colonialism still prevalent in today's society?

This body of work reflects my distasteful view of the fashion world's Overproduction and overconsumption, which results in unbelievable volumes of waste, causing severe damage to our environment. It simultaneously showcases the value of textile waste upcycling as one of the alternative solutions to textile waste colonialism.