Oluseye Traces Yoruba Spirituality From Nigeria to Brazil to Toronto in New Ago Installation

Oluseye: Orí mi pé opens Saturday, February 15 at 2 p.m., with remarks by the artist and curator 

As an omen of good fortune, as a symbol of wealth and a pathway to the spirits, the cowrie shell is an important object in the Yoruba culture of West Africa. Nigerian-Canadian artist Oluseye returns to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) this winter with a new installation that highlights the migration and persistence of those traditions. Opening on Saturday, February 15, 2025, Orí mi pé features video, bronze and wood sculptures, and will be installed in the Murray Frum Gallery on Level 2.

Mẹ́rìndínlógún (cowrie shell divination), is a spiritual practice brought to Brazil by enslaved West Africans during the transatlantic slave trade. Known in Brazil as O jogo de búzios, during the divination, a priest or priestess invokes and salutes the Orishas (deities), and puts questions to them. The Orishas answer the questions by influencing the way the shells fall on the tray. Paying homage to this cultural practice and to his own histories, Oluseye presents 16 large bronze cowrie shells, resting atop a hand-carved wooden divination tray. Carved in relief on the tray is an impression of the artist’s spiritual ancestry. Projected on an adjacent wall is a video inspired by the artist’s recent journey to Brazil, where he consulted with Iá Tologinã, a priestess in the Candomblé tradition to discover his own governing Orisha. 

One of the tenets of my art practice,” says Oluseye, “is to create meaningful works that celebrate and reinforce African rituals and philosophies as living, complex, and valid traditions. I’m thrilled to present these ideas on such a large scale, at the AGO, while simultaneously weaving in my personal narratives. Reflecting on my decade-long career, Orí mi pé, which translates to my head is correct signals a renewed confidence in my personal and artistic path.”

Curated Dr. Julie Crooks, Curator, Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora at the AGO, the installation syncretizes the many spiritual, mythological, and biographical elements that shape Oluseye’s worldview and art practice, from his Catholic upbringing, to his interest in astrology and ongoing exploration of African religions.  “In a visual language entirely his own, Oluseye continues to sift through the material debris of the African diaspora to create work that locates himself within a larger history,” says Crooks. “An artist whose work has been celebrated in South Africa and across Canada, this beautiful and compelling installation reminds us that the African Diasporic imagination transcends time and geography. I am very pleased to welcome his work back to the AGO.”

A public opening for Oluseye: Orí mi pé featuring remarks by the artist and Crooks will be held on February 15 at 2 p.m.  This event is free with General Admission. For more details, visit ago.ca/events/oluseye-ori-mi-pe-public-opening. 

Oluseye: Orí mi pé is on view through summer of 2026. Admission to the AGO is always free for Ontarians under 25, Indigenous Peoples, AGO Members and Annual Pass holders. The AGO is open late on Wednesdays and Fridays until 9 p.m. and every Saturday and Sunday between 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., as well as select holiday Mondays.  

For more information on how to become a Member or Annual Pass holder, visit ago.ca/membership/become-a-member. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Oluseye (b.1986, London, UK) is a Nigerian-Canadian artist. Oluseye has exhibited at the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Fransisco (2024), Daniel Faria Gallery, Toronto (2024), Southern Guild Gallery, Cape Town (2023), the Gardiner Museum, Toronto (2023), Albright-Knox Museum, Buffalo (2022), Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto (2021), Agnes Etherington Art Center, Queen’s University, Kingston (2021) and the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (2015). In 2022, his first public art commission, Black Ark, was installed in Toronto’s Ashbridge’s Bay Park, and in Fall 2024 will embark on a tour of the Maritimes with stops at the Owens Art Gallery and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.  

Contemporary programming at the AGO is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts 

Lead Support: 
TD Bank Group through The TD Ready Commitment

@AGOToronto | #SeeAGO

ABOUT THE AGO 

Located in Toronto, the Art Gallery of Ontario is one of the largest art museums in North America, attracting approximately one million visitors annually. The AGO Collection of more than 120,000 works of art ranges from cutting-edge contemporary art to significant works by Indigenous and Canadian artists and European masterpieces. The AGO presents wide-ranging exhibitions and programs, including solo exhibitions and acquisitions by diverse and underrepresented artists from around the world. The AGO is embarking on the seventh expansion it has undertaken since the museum was founded in 1900. When completed, the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery will increase exhibition space for the museum’s growing modern and contemporary collection. With its groundbreaking Annual Pass program, the AGO is one of the most affordable and accessible attractions in the GTA. Visit ago.ca to learn more. 

The AGO is funded in part by the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming. Additional operating support is received from the City of Toronto, the Canada Council for the Arts, and generous contributions from AGO Members, donors, and private-sector partners.