NIGERIA - Peju Layiwola (b.1967) is the daughter of acclaimed sculptress Elisabeth Olowu, and granddaughter of Oba Akenzua II of Benin, Nigeria. Here we are introduced to two of Peju’s lost wax bronze sculptures and three relief paintings, inspired by her friend and mentor, Bruce Onobrakpeya, the famous Nigerian printmaker. As a young mother of three and lecturer at the University of Lagos, Peju is an energetic, dedicated artist who had her first exhibition in the United States at the Mbari Institute in 2003. Since then one of her relief pieces has been chosen for a 2004 exhibit at The Philadelphia Museum of Art. Her bronze piece Quest for Water is the quintessential image of a woman carrying water on her head with a baby on her back. Peju’s treatment of this most common theme in African art emphasizes dignity and pride. Fourth Month, a sitting woman replete with child, has even more interesting lines as she holds her stomach covered by a wonderfully textured cloth with onlay patterning. Peju’s three resin relief panels are also very sculptural. Women of the Harem is an autobiographical piece. Peju was born in the harem where her mother, the Oba’s daughter, had sought refuge during the civil war. Unity, in the words of the artist, “expresses the harmony that could exist between diverse cultures and peoples of the world. Each pillar reflects varied textures, representing people, unified as they stand side by side.” Migration Stories is about the movement of people across borders, both physical and cultural, with integration as the hoped for outcome.