Meeting Points – Where Cloth, Culture and Community Converge
Posted: Oct 30th, 2025 | Collection Spotlight

Artistic Philosophy and Medium 

Living sculpture is how I would describe The Textile Museum of Canada’s recent acquisition: Samuel Nnorom’s, Meeting Points (2023). A suspended textile work whose medium defines its meaning. The trained sculptor rolls, cuts and stitches Ankara fabric and rope together to create masterpieces. Much of the material has been salvaged from Nigeria’s overflow of textile waste, which is often found at dump sites throughout the West African country.

Spanning roughly 165 x 122 x 18 cm, the cloth tufted installation is unmistakably Nigerian. Ankara is traditionally a printed material which uses Batik or Adire resist dye methods to create stunning patterns on cloth. For centuries Nigeria dominated the production of this cloth until industrialization processes in the West took over much of the production. For this reason, you may often hear the cloth referred to as Holandis.

I look at fabric as a societal material, a material of culture. I regard myself as a material custodian who preserves this material in a familiar yet very conceptual manner and in a way the work also carries a type of humanity.

-Samuel Nnorom

Samuel Nnorom’s work continues to weave intimate ideas into grand universal narratives. Meeting Points’ composition also gestures to some of his existential ideas.

So one could say that the beginning of life starts with an egg and starts in the bubble….it can represent an electromagnetic force or a birth story. The egg is formed [in the womb] and connection and emotions are made. So for me, the bubble is an abstract way to define the universe. Transcending this, the bubble encompasses every living organism be it spiritual or physical.

Similar to the motif of the egg throughout ‘Meeting Points’ there are strong references to the matriarch or feminine perspective in the work. It was an exciting moment to learn of women’s influence in Nigerian society being an integral theme in Nnorom’s piece. Such as the annual congress of women in August to discuss the community which is namely called “The August Meeting”. Here, Igbo women in South Eastern Nigeria return to their home villages to discuss important matters in the community. The sea of women meet, in full regalia of matching cloth. Glamour and serious community organizing share centre stage at these multi-day events, all while exercising an important concept in Nigerian culture “The Return.”

This [piece] is about dialogue and the materials that we used were intentional. The blue, the orange and yellow were actually colors that were put on by different societies during this August meeting… Likewise, the net found in the piece reflects how people are going to be able to connect with one another, having the privilege to return. In my culture it is encouraged to return even when you move out, you come back home. This is called Aku Ruo Ulo. Aku Ruo Ulo means “let my world come back home”. We also have names like Ahamefula, “let my name not be lost.” This saying is for people in my community to always remember who they are.

Land management and stewardship are central topics within communities across the globe. A society like Nigeria is facing some of the world’s most critical environmental hazards causing both climate and health issues due to land exploitation. Samuel explains the importance of how human productivity have altered our culture’s relationship to land.

My work  comes as a way to describe society. We can look at society like we do fabric.Thinking about how the warps and wefts [which cross and represent, the landscape] of values, tradition, culture and politics all interlaced to form the society. Through the concept of the bubble, my work reflects the folds of a particular stamp or period of time. By exploring life’s temporality or even exploring our origins, it suggests that life is something that has been held in a container and will not last.

If we look at the bubble metaphor as though we are trying to stay in our own individuality – bringing our trash to the landfill, we will all struggle. However if we share our positivity, share our memories, share our feelings, we form new histories. [We aspire to] be in a collective community who live together and begin to truly connect.

Reflecting on Samuel Nnorom’s Meeting Points curatorial rationale as part of The Textile Museum of Canada’s latest exhibition ‘Taking Shape: Recent Acquisitions’ which centers Indigenous textile arts, LGBTQ2S+ traditions. Meeting Points offers a unique perspective on land stewardship through the labour of making.

In the eastern part of my community we have Chi’ala which means “the God of land”…if there is anything that can consume one or demise one easily is the dispute of land. And so for us, we regard land as one very important element of the earth…So when we look to preserve the land. Chemical leaching, land converting to dump sites or the pollution of land… it’s more important here to safeguard our land. Unfortunately, due to industrialization and modernization, some of these laws, especially in the Eastern part are not being upheld. This work became a way to steward and to get off some of these materials that would otherwise leach into the land. In this way we are bringing them into my work and giving them a second voice.

You can experience Samuel Nnorom’s ‘Meeting Points’ at The Textile Museum of Canada on October 30th, 2025.

Author Bio

Omo S. Iserhienrhien is an artist, spatial and exhibition designer living in Toronto of Canadian, Nigerian and Guyanese heritage. Her interest in the preservation of West African culture through cloth led her to the Textile Museum of Canada. She recently designed the TMC Exhibition Eye of the Earth which featured Samuel Nnorom’s original work.

Important Terms

August Meeting: Annual congress of Igbo women to discuss important community issues

Aku Ruo Ulo: Let my wealth come back home

Ahamefula: Let my name not be lost

Hollandis: a type of African wax-print fabric, also known as Ankara fabric or Dutch wax

Chi’Ala: God of Land

Ala: Land