Photo credit: Aisha Ife

Artist Bio

Adulphina Imuede was born on October 25th in Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria. During her early childhood, her family relocated to Lagos because her father was serving in the Nigerian army. Growing up in a disciplined military household, she turned to drawing as a way to express emotions and desires that were often unspoken.

Adulphina’s work explores themes of healing, femininity, memory, and identity. She creates dreamlike figurative works that convey fragility and strength.

Her figures, with gentle colour palettes, live in worlds that feel intimate and expansive, inviting you to slow down and feel. She sees art as a therapeutic space for the maker and the viewer.

A central theme in my work is the body, especially as it exists within African cosmologies. I’ve long been interested in hierarchical interpretations of the body, particularly the head, which holds symbolic meaning. In my culture and other African cultures, the head is believed to carry personal destiny, identity, and the essence of becoming.

Beyond symbolism, my work also serves as a space for experimentation with forms and feelings. I am interested in exploring the delicacy of femininity, softness, and vulnerability as forms of strength rather than weakness. This draws me to the tension between inner life and outer structure, between what is seen and what is felt, and how these two layers may conflict, harmonise, or interact.

I work with watercolour, acrylic, ink, oil, gouache, and pastels, on both canvas and paper.

Personal Statement

EDUCATION

Gray’s School of Art. RGU Aberdeen

Sept. 2025 - Dec. 2026

MA Fine Art

University of Lagos. Akoka, Yaba

Nov. 2013 - Sept. 2016

BA Visual Art 

University of Lagos. Akoka, Yaba

Oct.  2011 - Jun. 2012

Diploma in Creative Arts

WORK EXPERIENCE

Red Door Gallery

Feb. 2018 - Dec. 2018

Intern

SMO Contemporary Art

Sept. 2016 - Dec. 2016

Tour Guide/Intern

EXHIBITIONS

Group Exhibition:

  • Delicate Things & A Place Called There: Wunika Mukan Gallery, Lagos. September 2025

  • Kuenyehia Prize For Contemporary Art Short-Listed Artists Exhibition at 1952 Africa, Lagos. April 2025

  • Pamphlets: Rele Gallery, Lagos. December 2024

  • Verdure: A Condition of Freshness Presented by Arushi Gallery + So Much Art. Los Angeles, CA. February 2023

  • Girls Run The World: Eclectica Contemporary. Cape Town, SA. August 2022

  • Intersecting Identities: Arushi Gallery. Los Angeles, CA. February 2022

  • Faces of The Homeland: African Art Wave. Coningsby Gallery, London. January 2022

  • Art On A Postcard by The Auction Collective. Curated by Mollie E Barnes. London, UK. September 2021

  • I Love Who You Are, I Love Who You Ain’t: Bill Brady Gallery, Miami, FL. August 2021

  • The Human Experience: The Project Space. Gallery Fanon, Johannesburg, SA. September 2020

  • Locality and The Status Quo: Wunika Mukan Gallery, Lagos. August 2020

Solo Exhibitions

  • Phases and Faces: Wunika Mukan Gallery, Lagos. July 2022

  • Higher Self: Wunika Mukan Gallery, Lagos. March 2021

Art Fairs

  • ART X Lagos 8th Edition. Solo Presentation, November 2023

  • FNB Art Joburg 15th Edition. Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, SA. September 2022

  • ART X Lagos 7th Edition. November 2022

  • ART X Lagos 6th Edition. November 2021

PUBLICATIONS / INTERVIEWS / FEATURES