• Joshua works with wool, thread and nails to create intricate string art portraits
• His practice explores Nigerian cultural identity through themes of memory, heritage and belonging
• He has exhibited his work internationally, including in New York, Stockholm, Ibiza and Marrakech

Born in Niger State, Nigeria, Joshua Michael Adokuru developed an artistic eye shaped by the tension between traditional and global cultures. After he moved to Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, he earned a BSC degree in computer science. Self-taught, Joshua's practice began with pencil and pen commissions before discovering string art through experimentation. "I found the craft in a form that is entirely my own," he says. He sketches his composition onto a board, hammers and glues nails into structure, spray paints the nails black, then weaves wool and thread between them in primary blues, reds and warm creams. This process creates something unexpectedly soft within a rigid framework. Drawing portraits from his immediate surroundings, Joshua depicts people he personally knows.