The artist
Adesakin Mary Damilola
b. 2002 · Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria
Adesakin Mary Damilola is a Nigerian visual artist from Ile-Ife whose practice focuses on thread painting and acrylic. Born in 2002, she explores identity, memory, Yoruba heritage, womanhood, and emotional repair through layered, hand-stitched compositions.
She studied Fine and Applied Arts at Adeyemi College of Education, affiliated to Obafemi Awolowo University, and now works as a full-time artist. For Mary, each stitch is a form of storytelling that invites reflection on emotion, memory, and the legacy we carry.
Her work has been exhibited in Nigeria and internationally, including Deep in Thought, La Beauté Vue par les Artistes in Paris, the SWANS Female Exhibition, Tola Wewe Art Gallery, House of George, and the Life In My City Art Festival. Works are held in private collections.
Portrait · Perfect Lenz
Artist statement
“My practice explores themes of vulnerability, struggle, culture, and resilience through textile-based portraiture using thread and acrylic. I use thread as both a material and a language to connect fragments of memory, identity, and lived experience — a line that repairs, remembers, conceals, reveals, and binds what words cannot always carry.”
Education
Fine and Applied Arts, Adeyemi College of Education (affiliated to Obafemi Awolowo University), graduated 2024.
Mentorship
Mentorship with contemporary artist Toheeb Ibrahim.
Studio
Full-time practice in Ile-Ife. Private collectors in Nigeria and abroad. Commissions considered by conversation.
Work with the studio
Acquisitions, portrait commissions, and curatorial requests.