The Nigerian-Italian illustrator and textile artist speaks on paying homage to her roots in her work, Wear Your Mask, and her recent cover story 'Iya ni wura' for the New Yorker.
Diana Ejaita works as an illustrator and textile designer in Berlin. Born in Cremona, of Nigerian and Italian roots, the multidisciplinary artist's style pays homage to her West African and European lineage, weaving symbolism through narrative pattern and texture.
In 2014, Ejaita created a fashion label "WearYourMask"to create a dialogue between tradition and modernism. More recently, Ejaita's work received wider acclaim, as she illustrated a New Yorker cover titled “Iya Ni Wura (Mother Is Gold)”, an ode to Nigerian and universal motherhood. We spoke to Ejaita on identity, her childhood, and why she acknowledges heritage in her art.
