Unisex coat
Brand
Lagos Space Programme
(founded 2018)
2018
Cotton
Museum purchase
Object number2023.60.1
Adeju Thompson designed his 2018 lab coat for a babalawo, or Ifa priest. The Ifa divination system, practiced by Yoruba communities in Nigeria and throughout the diaspora, draws on a complex set of scriptures called odu, divided into ese (verses) that “reflect Yoruba history, language, beliefs, cosmovision and contemporary social issues.” After interviewing a babalawo in Osun State (southwest Nigeria), Thompson created a modern workwear jacket to accommodate the priest’s tools and practices. He states, “reimagining babalawo workwear is what it would look like if Nigeria wasn’t colonized. I can study the past … bringing it to now.”
DescriptionPost-Adire Ifa Odu coat: Blue and white resist dyed overcoat, metal button front, notched lapels, patch pockets, blue loop at back neck, back vent to waistExhibitions