Meet Nigeria’s Biggest Metal Sculptor
Most sculptures begin with clay or stone. Dotun David Popoola starts with scrap metal.
His sculptures begin where most things end. In scrapyards. Inside abandoned cars. In piles of rusted metal that most people walk past without a second look. To him, nothing is just scrap. Every piece has already lived one life. His job is to give it another.
Born in Lagos in 1981, Popoola has spent years building a style that is instantly recognisable. A graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, where he studied Fine and Applied Arts before specialising in sculpture, he uses discarded motorcycle tanks, brake pads, bolts and electric generator parts to create hyper-realistic sculptures that weigh over 2,500 kg and feel almost impossible until you’re standing in front of them.
His fascination with building things started long before galleries and exhibitions. As a child, he made toy cars from toothpaste boxes, cans and other household materials. That curiosity eventually took him across the world. Early in his career, he travelled to a small town in South Dakota to learn from John Lopez, one of his mentors in metal sculpture. After returning home, he spent countless hours moving through scrapyards and mechanic workshops across Nigeria, collecting discarded metal that would later become some of his most recognised works.
In “The Art of Not Giving Up”, an interview with Olaoye Popoola, he mentions, “Every piece of art has a story and every artist should be able to visually tell stories without using words.” That philosophy runs through almost every sculpture he creates. His creative process involves critical thinking, critical study, and reading histories and materials on the subject matter. Whenever he creates an art piece, he doesn’t just create for creating’s sake. He believes every piece has a soul and spirit that should be felt by whoever owns or lives with it.
He also mentions in the interview, “The materials have their own story. They have their own struggles.” That idea explains why Popoola rarely hides the identity of the objects he works with. It’s an idea that carries through his practice, where discarded objects are given a new purpose without losing their past.
His artistic practice is built on a simple belief: Art should be explored as an agent of change, and as a tool of socio-cultural review, reengineering and protesting against environmental pollution. You can see that belief in every piece he makes. One of his best-known works, The Lion of Ikate Kingdom, references the heritage and identity of the Ikate Kingdom. Featuring the 20 White Cap Chiefs and the Eyo masquerade inside the lion, it stands as a symbol of tradition and pride. His favourite work is his very first metal sculpture, Irin Ola (Iron of Wealth). He considers it the first work that brought him to the limelight.
His sculptures don’t just preserve the past; they tell stories. From Akugo Gagara (The Rooster), capturing the aggression and vitality of the bird, to Esin Oba (The Royal Horse), a majestic representation of nobility and power, Okada (Bike), capturing Nigeria’s ubiquitous motorcycle culture, and Fruit of Our Labour, embodying the rewards of persistence.
One of his most ambitious works, Irinkemi Asake, stands over 12 feet tall and weighs about 882 pounds. Inspired by his wife, the title means “metals have enriched my life” in Yoruba. Surrounded by more than 5,000 metal butterflies, the sculpture celebrates African beauty while making a statement about transformation, resilience and the environment.
His first solo exhibition, Irin Ajo ( meaning The Journey of the Welded Metal), marked a turning point. Demand for his work reportedly grew by almost 200 per cent afterwards, introducing more people to art that blends sculpture, sustainability and storytelling.
Since then, Popoola’s work has travelled far beyond Nigeria. From ARTX Lagos to exhibitions in Qatar, India, Turkey, Morocco, Bahrain, Dubai and the United States, his sculptures have carried Nigerian craftsmanship onto global stages. In 2024, he received the AMIAF Award for Hybrid Sculptor, recognising the innovation behind his signature technique of combining metal junk, cast bronze and aluminium into hyper-realistic forms.
Looking across his body of work, you can identify a clear pattern. He isn’t only welding metal together. He’s welding together stories. Stories of people, stories of communities, stories of heritage, using objects that is discarded.
Maybe that’s why his work stays with people. Not because it’s made from metal, but because it reminds us that transformation is possible. All it takes is someone willing to see value where everyone else sees scrap.