Resurgence: A Manifesto

Resurgence: A Manifesto (2013) is a photographic performance series that confronts socio-political decay. It directly critiques the profound socio-economic and political dysfunction within Nigeria and, by extension, post-colonial Africa. By staging these performances within government facilities in Lagos, Olagunju’s work executes a deliberate reclamation of space. This act embodies a forthright crusade against mental colonization, aiming to shatter the inherited psychic shackles of colonialism.

The series focuses on the urgent need for a collective reawakening. It centers on the recovery of an autonomous identity, one systematically threatened by enduring epistemic violence and cultural erasure. Olagunju’s practice, however, transcends mere critique. By meticulously attending to form and symbol, she documents and catalyzes signs of possible resistance. Her work ultimately functions as a visual lexicon of defiance, offering a critical sense of hope grounded in the active reclamation of agency and historical narrative.