Portrait of Willy, 2022

Samson Tolulope Daramola  

Tolulope Daramola [b. 1993, Ekiti, Nigeria] is a self-taught contemporary visual artist working and living in Abuja, Nigeria. Up until his University days, his early childhood was around family in Ekiti State.

His study of English and Literary Studies at the Ekiti State University; Ado-Ekiti, alongside communal experiences with family remains the foundation upon which his artworks are layered - irrespective of color, form, or technique.

His mastery of acrylics, oils, charcoal, pastels, and other mediums makes every stroke unique in his interpretation of people and immediate surroundings. Tolulope believes in painting out the suppressed experiences and untold stories of everyday people sometimes swept under the carpets of reality. He devised a means of using sewing buttons, which pays homage to his mother who used to be a tailor; He found solace and connection in the sounds of her old sewing machine, which served as a meeting point for him and his siblings during their early years. This connection led him to explore the metaphorical essence of sewing buttons and the profound symbolism it carries, which he has recently introduced into his works.

Buttons, traditionally used to fasten garments and fabrics together, have now become a powerful symbol of unity in Tolulope's pieces. While we may inhabit different corners of the world, with diverse cultures, beliefs, and norms, there is a fundamental thread that binds us all together as human beings, the ties we share as humans are what the button signifies in his works.

With an array of well-traveled works, Tolulope has been part of exhibitions both locally and internationally, such as his first exhibition in 2021 at the Art Pantheon Gallery in Lagos, Nigeria. This was followed by a virtual display at the Painters Painting Paintings [PPP] Gallery, United Kingdom. He spends his spare time in-between meeting people, asking questions, and traveling.