Artist in Residence / OMI Collective
OMI Collective are a design practice that seek to archive, promote and revive dying crafts. By collaborating with skilled craftsmen with skills passed down generations. Omi attempts to leave a piece of history and heritage with each object while sustaining the craft.
Drawing of Omi Series 1- Side Table by Olorunfemi Adewuyi
Their most recent research project studies Tropical Modernism, a movement borne out of a mix of practicality, idealism and exacting architecture that came out of Nigeria in the decade following its independence.
Speaking about the project, Olorunfemi Adewuyi (OMI Collective’s Principal) says:
“Operating between design and research, Omi “water in Yoruba” is born out of constant tensions with water as an element of life, fluidity, rebirth and erasure. Negotiating these tensions results in projects that seek to examine impositions, commoness and ownership often working collaboratively across scales. While negotiating key developmental themes, we began to research an architectural heritage on the verge of destruction, Tropical Modernism. in light of this we initiated a project to preserve and conserve the knowledge found in these buildings, which are not only limited to sustainability and climate consciousness but an added layer of emotive consciousness especially seen through the involvement of artists with architectural projects at the time. To do this we are adopting technologies such as Photogrammetry, AR and VR to archive the buildings for now and future generations. During our residency with 16/16 our goal is to deepen our investigations with focused research and development of our archival models, while starting our memory drive, which aims to collect memories about these buildings from the public.
We are excited to welcome the OMI Collective to a 1 month residency at the 16/16 maker-space at 30 Ajasa Street. During this time, they will use it as a launchpad for their research in Lagos Island and a place for their team to congregate in between fieldwork.
