Nifemi Marcus-Bello Finds Inspiration in Lagos’s Culture of Recycling

In 2023, Nifemi Marcus-Bello remade the moon. At Design Miami last December he showed a series of seating and sculpture made from rough, sand-cast aluminum. The pieces evoked celestial forms but also, as he notes, traced the path of materials migrating to and from Africa. The Nigerian designer’s work regularly poses questions about the complexities of global production systems and contemporary West African experiences by exploring centuries-old metalworking techniques and synthesizing abstracted forms taken from multiple sources, including a show about folktales told in lunar light.

Tying multiple threads together is an important part of Marcus-Bello’s approach. After studying design in the U.K., he moved across Africa pursuing a desire to focus his practice there, first to Nairobi, then to Kigali, and finally returning to his birthplace, Lagos, where he set up nmbello Studio. We spoke with him about finding inspiration in the local recycling culture and how moving home has reframed what he values about design.

What did you present at Design Miami last year?

Tales by Moonlight, which is part of my Oríkì design series and features an eight-piece sand-cast-aluminum furniture and object installation. It was produced in one of the biggest scrapyards in Lagos, which I learned of because I purchased and shipped a secondhand car from America. It had been in an accident, so I had to repair it myself. My cousin took me to the scrapyard to look for parts, to a place called Owode Onirin. The car is a Mitsubishi, which is uncommon in Lagos, yet I found what I needed in five minutes there, which fascinated me.

Afterward, I would just go there, some Saturdays, to observe the small-scale sand-casting using melted scrap—people making door handles or window frames. I got told off for trying to take photos, but despite that, I wanted to have a dialogue with this community, so I engaged them through creating objects together.

What did you make with them?

We made five vessels, a single seat, a bench, and a moon. The name Tales by Moonlight comes from a television series that was broadcast each day after school, where an elder sits under a tree, telling folk stories to children. The work presents new typologies that explore the multifunctionality of objects and how a modern-day African would want to sit and how they could interact with material or form. I wanted these designs to be obtrusive, because design in Africa is obtrusive—it’s right in front of you.