b. 2000
Olaolu Akeredolu-Ale better known as Olaolu Slawn is a British Nigerian artist and designer. He began his career working at Wafflesncream, Nigeria’s first skate shop, catching the attention of skate brands like Supreme and Dime before going on to work on editorial shoots for London-based publications. Slawn went on to collaborate with friends to create the apparel group, Motherlan in 2018, which gained popularity across Nigeria and received recognition from Virgil Abloh.
In 2018 he moved to London to study graphic design at Middlesex University before picking up painting during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of his works include spray paint, pop art canvases, graffiti, caricatures and murals. He had his debut exhibition in 2021 at the Truman Brewery. His work was debuted the following year by Skepta on a collection for Sotheby’s auction. In 2023 he became the youngest and first Nigerian-born artist to design the set and statuette for the annual Brit Awards.
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Slawn: “As humans, we view time as our enemy, we’re scared of it”
