Hover or touch the work to look closer.
From the collection Room 4, the Indigo galleries
Indigo rain over Mapo
Adebimpe Ogunleye, born 1961, Abeokuta
- Date
- 2019
- Medium
- Indigo resist dye on hand-loomed cotton
- Size
- 180 x 120 cm
- Where
- Room 4, the Indigo galleries
- Object number
- RMA.2019.305
About the work
Adebimpe Ogunleye made this cloth in the rainy season of 2019, in the compound in Abeokuta where her grandmother dyed for market. The grid of twenty squares follows the old way of dividing a cloth, but each square is a drawing of something she saw on the bus to Ibadan: ripples on puddles at Mapo, the zigzag of a gutter, rain on a zinc roof.
The pale lines are cassava starch, painted by hand with a chicken feather and a palm rib, and the cloth went into the indigo pit eleven times. Where the paste cracked, the dye crept in: those fine veins are not mistakes but the signature of the method.
How big is it?
Drawn to scale beside a visitor 1.7 metres tall. The work measures 180 x 120 cm and hangs with its centre 1.5 metres from the floor, the height of most people's eyes.
The figure is a guide only.
Audio guide transcript
Stop 35 2 minutes 40 seconds
Welcome to Indigo rain over Mapo. Take a step back first, to where the bench is. From here you see the whole of it at once, the way Adebimpe wanted it seen. Now come close, to about an arm's length, and look at the edges, where the hand of the maker shows most clearly.
Textile artist who learnt resist dyeing from her grandmother and turned it into large wall pieces. Her cloths read like maps of the cities she has lived in. When you are ready, the next stop is to your right.
History of the work
- 2019Made in Abeokuta
- 2020Shown at the artist's first solo show in Ibadan
- 2021Bought by the Regent with members' gifts
- 2026Hung in Indigo, Room 4
In the room
The galleries are kept at 22 degrees with solar power and inverter backup.
Can I photograph this work?
Yes, without flash, for personal use.
Is a print available?
Yes, archival prints in three sizes are in the shop from ₦18,000.
Can I see it every day?
It is on the walls this season. Check the floor plan before you come; works sometimes move for conservation.
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