Dennis Osadebe's 'This Is Lagos' Turns Hand-Painted Typography into Monumental Steel Sculptures

Artist Dennis Osadebe has unveiled 'This Is Lagos,' a public art project commissioned by Lagos State that transforms the city's vernacular hand-painted lettering into five monumental steel sculptures. Installed across Lagos's five administrative divisions, the sculptures are based on a custom typeface called 'Godspeed,' developed from extensive research into the typography found on danfos, keke marwas, and commercial buses. The first installations are already in place in Ikeja, Owode, and Berger, with more to follow. Osadebe, a Lagos-based visual artist born in 1991, works across painting, sculpture, installation, and film, exploring intersections of heritage, technology, and visual culture. His recent exhibitions include shows at Ceysson & Bénétière New York (2025), Hermès (2025), König Galerie Berlin (2023, 2022), NBA (2023), and the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts in New York (2021).