Over the years, Waffles N Cream has sought to position itself as being the premier community for skaters in Nigeria. Whilst it has definitely done a creditable job in highlighting and promoting that subculture, the fashion element under it and the use of Nigerian cultural elements with a modern twist.
Consequently, for the upcoming dry season, the brand has announced it will release a collaboration featuring the artwork of Jimi Solanke and an exhibition on Friday the 5th of November, showcasing 100 of his selected collages. The artwork chosen for the t-shirt is of an original collage created in 2014 called ‘MASK FIVE’, in colourways black, white and safety orange, with words from “Bare ni joye” created in his 1986 album Stories.
Solanke is a renowned actor, dramatist, folk singer, poet and playwright whose creative output places him in the upper echelons of Nigerian art. Since 2007, Jimi has produced one of the largest collage collections in the country. Born in Lagos Island in 1942, his roots can be traced back to Ipara-Remo, Ogun. He moved to the United States, where he created a drama group called The Africa Review, focused on African culture. Jimi Solanke’s deep reverence for his cultural heritage comes through in his work. The story teller uses the colours and texts from daily newspapers, glue, card and pieces of paper to tell individual, simple and direct stories in each piece.