Untitled 

Curator: Let's discuss this "Untitled" mixed-media drawing on paper by Laolu Senbanjo. Editor: Immediately striking! It feels dense and energetic, with this fascinating interplay of the organic and the geometric, rendered in black and white. Curator: The formal organization presents a compelling visual language. Notice how the stark black ink creates dynamic patterns, a kind of controlled chaos, overlaying various graphic motifs. Semiotically, each mark seems deliberate. Editor: It definitely pulls you in. The labour intensity is clear. All of these detailed drawings, that mark making is a clear and determined practice. Given the adidas branding, one wonders if the production was commissioned or if this functions as commentary on commodification of sport. Curator: A pertinent point regarding consumerism, though I hesitate to ascribe solely external meaning without first fully considering the inherent aesthetic strategies employed. The interplay of positive and negative space, the varying line weights which give a certain dynamism, feel critical here. Editor: I see that dynamism as suggestive of energy exerted in sport; it feels as though all that abstract labor manifests on the surface of this drawing. Consider too how pattern work, typically assigned lower status as decorative, gets centered as high art through Senbanjo's fine art training. Curator: Perhaps. Still, I return to the masterful control demonstrated by the artist's linework, evoking precision, an architectonic quality reminiscent of analytical cubism. Editor: To be sure, these observations invite dialogue surrounding globalization, cultural fusion and the porous relationship between indigenous creative forms and global brands. Curator: Ultimately, an intricate exercise in pure visual expression. Editor: Or a potent investigation of labour, pattern and branding. Each equally compelling.