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By Damiete Braide
For Nigerian illustrator and designer, Sefunmi Adeola popularly known as Sef Adeola, illustration is more than a visual practice, it is an act of preservation, protest, and cultural affirmation.
As a narrative and editorial illustrator, Sef Adeola has been commissioned by global and regional publications, such as The Guardian, Minority Africa, The Continent, and The Believer Magazine of the University of Las Vegas. Through his work, he explores the complexities of African identity, using a signature artistic style that merges silhouettes, inspired by African cave art, with Yoruba textile design, especially motifs from Adire and Tie & Dye traditions.
“My style is a mixture of silhouettes and native Yoruba textile design,” he explains. “Silhouettes help me distill the message I want to pass across. They strip the human form down to its most essential shape, allowing me to focus entirely on the emotional or conceptual core of a story.”
For Sef Adeola, who hails from Abeokuta in Ogun State, the connection to textile design is both personal and cultural. The traditions of Adire and batik, ancient forms of resist-dyeing associated with the Egba people, are an intrinsic part of his heritage. These textile elements form the backdrops in his illustrations, sometimes serving as ornamental fillers, and at other times driving the narrative forward.
Over the years, Sef Adeola’s work has come to embody a rich interplay between beauty, protest, and culture. Balancing these forces is never straightforward. “To capture the heart of a story, you often have to choose between beauty and impact,” he says. “It’s rarely a balanced equation.” He points to different editorial commissions as examples: his illustrations for the EndSARS protest series in The Continent naturally leaned more toward protest and intensity, while a piece for Minority Africa on Zimbabwean traditional healers emphasized beauty, spiritual symbolism, and atmosphere.
Symbolism has become central to his artistic vocabulary. When Sef Adeola began his practice in 2019, symbols and patterns were largely decorative.
But with time, they evolved into visual metaphors woven into his narratives. “It all begins with shapes and their meanings,” he says. “A square might represent stability, while spirals suggest freedom or transformation. These associations inform the creation of my patterns.”
He also draws on cultural connotations when working across African contexts. If a story contains a recurring theme, pain, resistance, hope, Sef Adeola reflects it through specific symbols and rhythm in his background patterns. “The rhythm of my motifs, whether monotonous, semi-random, or flowing, is determined by the pace of the story I’m illustrating,” he explains.
Sef Adeola’s deep artistic grounding can be traced back to his formative years in Nigeria, where he studied Fine Art from junior secondary to senior secondary school. He was influenced early on by Nigerian art pioneers like Aina Onabolu, Twins Seven Seven, and Jimoh Buraimoh, as well as figures like Suzanne Wenger and Nike Okundaye. “These artists helped shape my belief in the power of African indigenous traditions,” he says.
That foundation is now leading him into a new artistic chapter, moving beyond digital illustration and into hands-on textile design. While he has always been a textile designer, Sef Adeola is now actively learning the practical techniques of tie & dye and batik, driven by both curiosity and a desire for deeper engagement. “My new work is beginning to lift off the screen,” he says. “I’m becoming more involved physically with my illustrations. That’s the next transition for me, having a more tactile, hands-on practice.”
This shift is not just technical, it is a return to his roots. With a father from Abeokuta and a mother from Ondo, exploring Yoruba fabric traditions feels like an organic evolution. “It felt natural to gravitate towards an artform deeply rooted in where I’m from,” he says.
Beyond his individual practice, Sef Adeola is also intent on building community. He recently launched illustration.com.ng, a blog aimed at spotlighting illustrators of African descent. “There are other ideas brewing, which I’ll reveal in time,” he says. His desire to support emerging African illustrators stems from a belief that visibility and documentation are vital for building an ecosystem where African visual storytellers can thrive.
Sef Adeola’s inspirations span across disciplines and continents. He names artists and thinkers, such as Jimoh Buraimoh, Yusuf Grillo, William Morris, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Aboubakar Fofana, and even musicians, like Fela Kuti, as key influences. “I’m also inspired by African literary giants like Buchi Emecheta and Léopold Sédar Senghor,” he adds.
Though much of his work is commission-based, illustrating poems, articles, or features, his personal pieces usually center around a unifying theme: African people and culture. “Whether it’s love, protest, or hope, the stories I’m drawn to are always about African experience,” he says.
Editorial illustration has played a significant role in expanding Adeola’s reach. Without it, he believes he might not have connected with such a wide audience across the globe. “Editorial platforms have helped my work travel. They’ve allowed me to visually engage with readers from different cultures and perspectives.”
For Sef Adeola, illustration carries a responsibility, especially in the African context. “We’re not just drawing. We are acting as visual historians, social commentators, and cultural preservers,” he says.
“In the same way African cartoonists like Bennett Omeke shaped how we viewed our society growing up, illustrators today must capture the soul of the narrative.”
