The people and language of one of Africa’s largest ethnic groups, primarily living in south eastern Nigeria, in the Niger Delta.
Their uli/uri motifs express part of this community’s rich cultural heritage: traditionally painted on women’s bodies for social rites (funerals, marriage, even market days), they are representational of daily life, and were also incorporated on decorative murals in homes. They are characterised by linear, asymmetrical drawings without perspective and with an equal balance of positive and negative spaces, typically in four local natural dyes: black, yellow, red and white.
Uli designs have been embraced by all types of artisans, present in carved woodwork (gates) as in fabrics.