Bruce Onobrakpeya, 1932
Biography

Bruce Obomeyoma Onobrakpeya was born on 30 August 1932 in Agbarha-Otor, Delta State, Nigeria, the son of an Urhobo wood carver. He trained in Western representational art at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology in Zaria from 1957.

In October 1958, Onobrakpeya co-founded the Zaria Art Society — later known as the Zaria Rebels — with fellow students including Uche Okeke and Demas Nwoko, seeking to decolonise Nigerian visual art by synthesising Western technique with African tradition, folklore and iconography.

Onobrakpeya went on to pioneer several printmaking and relief techniques, including bronzed lino relief, plastograph and metal foil deep etching, illustrating Chinua Achebe's No Longer at Ease along the way. His work has been exhibited at Tate Modern and the Venice Biennale, and he founded the annual Harmattan Workshop to train younger generations of Nigerian artists.