JIMOH BURAIMOH

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Jimoh Buraimoh was born into a Muslim family in 1943. Buraimoh developed his artistic eye while dyeing the raffia strands his mother used to weave mats. Initially trained as an electrician, Buraimoh worked as a lighting technician in Duro Ladipo's theater. In 1964 he attended Georgina Beier's workshop, where he learned to make prints, paint and inlay tiles and small beads to create mosaic plaques and tables. He gradually expanded his repertoire to include bead paintings and murals. In 1967 the Goethe Institute in Lagos organized Buraimoh's first exhibition of bead paintings. Since then he has exhibited his works widely at home and abroad.

Buraimoh's bead paintings—his most famous works—are reminiscent of traditional Yoruba beaded cloaks, staffs, crowns and stools. The artist strings beads on cotton thread and adheres them to the surface of a board with a fast-setting chemical adhesive. When placed close together on a flat surface, the beads create raised surfaces, a variety of shapes and an illusion of depth. Buraimoh's larger bead paintings, to which he adds cowrie shells and glass, are the size of murals.

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