In Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart - the reader witnesses the gaps between differing cultures as they struggle for dominance and/or survival. Move forward to this present with artist Oluwatobi Adewumi and his exploration on how migration becomes almost a scar on identity - and the carrying of culture to a new culture leaves traces on the one moving. Born in Nigeria, but residing in the American South, Adewumi works mainly in layers exploring migration, identity, and belonging.

Looking at statements (2024), for example, we encounter a child tagged with differing labels, in the throes of relocating, yet the young boy does not cower in this condition - he stands firmly and resolutely in this moment. But, there is always a burden that will accompany him - that of the past, his past, and that of the future he must embrace. Left to his own, his confidence seems to be worthy of the challenge. Adewumi, though does not leave things just in the realm of comfort - instead he reminds the viewer of the cost of changing.

Many of Adewumi’s works rely on topical lines, wether on the subject alone, or on the clothes. One can believe that these lines, are what can be seen as the scars of relocation. Regardless of where one comes from, one must adapt to the new location - the new culture. Culture differs town by town, not just country by country. It become blazingly apparent that what this artist explores through the layering and mixing of mediums is this ebb and flow of where culture fits. At the end, though, what the viewer is left with is the witnessing of resilience, dignity, and transformation, and the permission to do so.