ART ANTWERP 2024: Samuel Nnorom solo presentation

Galerie Revel is thrilled to present a solo exhibition of Samuel Nnorom, marking the artist’s debut in Belgium. Sourcing his materials from local markets across Nigeria, Nnorom contends with textiles and their lifecycles as emblematic of the potent yet pernicious relationship between cultures and markets.  Through his signature techniques of stitching, tying, and wrapping fabric around discarded foam, he crafts striking abstract sculptures that confront the histories of colonialism, commerce and the complex dynamics that shape the world today.

At the core of Nnorom’s reflection is Ankara fabric. Originally crafted using an ancestral Indonesian wax-resist dyeing technique, the fabric’s designs were appropriated and mass-produced by Dutch merchants during colonial rule. Introduced to African markets in the mid 19th century,  it became known as “Dutch wax fabric,” where it remains among the most coveted textiles today. Ankara fabric is part of a broader history of European textile production and trade that extended beyond the Netherlands to include manufacturers and merchants in Germany and Austria, making Nnorom’s show in Antwerp, a particularly relevant context to engage with his work. 

Nnorom’s sculptural forms act as physical manifestations of how the global textile industry, and modernity more broadly, stretch across borders, weaving people together while also tying communities down. In this way, Nnorom’s works speak to the lingering effects of globalization, over-consumption, and displacement, offering an urgent and poetic representation of the modern world. 

Samuel Nnorom’s first museum exhibition opens at the Textile Museum of Canada in Ontario on December 19th, 2024. 

Text by Max Diallo Jakobsen