IREWOLE STUDIO
62"x54" JACQUARD BLANKETS
IMAGED & DESIGNED BY OREOLUWA AKINYODE & PRODUCED BY TEXTILE MILL IN THE U.S.
IRE OMI, THE BLESSINGS OF THE WATERS, was birth out of a trip Oreoluwa Akinyode took where they photographed the Chesapeake Beach's living waters. Filled with uncertainty and doubts in life, Oreoluwa prayed for the spirit of the water to show them a life of e(ase) and what it means to trust the process of creation. The IRE OMI blankets are a living physical manifestation of the lessons and blessings of the waters and the debut of Oreoluwa's studio practice, IREWOLE STUDIO.
IREWOLE STUDIO is Oreoluwa Akinyode's studio practice where they are committed to preserving physical imagery through fibers and everyday items. The Yoruba word, IREWOLE, meaning blessings reside here, was inspired by the traditional tattoo of Oreoluwa's late grandmother Monisade had as a living physical prayer carved into her arm. Paying homage to their ancestry and lineage of traders, tailors, builders, and creators, Oreoluwa uplifts their lineage through the naming of their studio practice.