Anadu Art Gallery

Stories That Outlive Us: Osayande on Ancestry and Memory

October 8, 2026

By: Chieloka Anadu

Every family carries stories that outlive the people who first told them, and for Osaze Andrew Osayande, those inherited stories are where the work begins. Based in Lagos, the visual artist and sculptor moves across painting, sculpture, and mixed media, building pieces around memory, identity, ancestry, spirituality, and cultural continuity. Through symbolic imagery, layered textures, and expressive forms, he explores “the connections between personal histories and collective experiences,” inviting viewers to reflect on heritage, belonging, and transformation.

That focus grows out of the sources he draws from: family histories, African cultural traditions, spirituality, and the stories passed from one generation to the next. He is fascinated by how memory shapes identity and how cultural values endure through time. Everyday experience, human relationships, historical narratives, and observations from his surroundings regularly become the foundation of his work, grounding large themes in lived detail.

His influences reflect the same concerns. Osayande points to Ben Enwonwu, Bruce Onobrakpeya, and El Anatsui, whose work has shaped his appreciation for storytelling, symbolism, and the inventive use of materials. What continues to inspire him, he says, is “their ability to connect local narratives with universal themes.”

His materials follow naturally from that thinking. Osayande works primarily with acrylics, oils, mixed media, and sculptural materials, often building textured surfaces and layered compositions that “mirror the complexity of memory and lived experience.” Those materials allow him to shape visual narratives around ancestry, resilience, cultural preservation, and transformation, giving physical form to ideas that are otherwise difficult to hold.

When creative blocks arrive, he returns to observation, research, sketching, and reflection, drawing inspiration from conversations, books, music, nature, and unfinished ideas he revisits. He doesn’t try to force the process. Instead, he gives himself time to reconnect with the themes that drive his practice, and often finds new perspectives along the way.

Asked what his artwork would say if it could speak, Osayande answers: “Remember where you come from, honour the stories that shaped you, and carry them forward.” His work encourages viewers to reflect on their own histories, relationships, and cultural identities, while recognising the connections that unite people across generations.

Participating in the inaugural Anadu Art Fair is, for Osayande, “both an honour and an important milestone” in his artistic journey. Personally, it offers a chance to share stories and ideas that are deeply meaningful to him. Professionally, it provides a valuable platform to engage with collectors, curators, fellow artists, and a wider audience. The fair’s theme, Homecoming, resonates strongly with a practice that so often returns to memory, ancestry, and cultural connection.Follow Osayande’s journey on Instagram: osazeartworks