A Conceptual Exploration of Cultural Change among Fulani Women through Painting

Visual representations of Fulani women in Nigerian art have traditionally emphasised ethnographic documentation, pastoral identity, and cultural continuity. Comparatively little attention has been given to the visual interpretation of the cultural transformations accompanying changing patterns of livelihood, urbanisation, and material adaptation. This paper presents a practice-led conceptual exploration of cultural change among Fulani women through painting, focusing on the evolving identity of the Fulani milkmaid within selected contemporary contexts in Northern Nigeria. Field observation and photographic documentation informed a sequence of studio investigations that progressed from realist studies to conceptual and semi-abstract paintings. The study examines visible shifts in material culture, particularly the replacement of traditional carved calabashes with commercially manufactured plastic containers and sachets used in the sale of fura da nono. These observations were subsequently translated into paintings employing colour, line, silhouette, and expressive dripping techniques as conceptual devices for representing transition, displacement, and the gradual weakening of traditional visual markers. Drawing on aspects of Tyrone Geter's figurative treatment of Fulani subjects and Kenneth Blom's use of spatial ambiguity and psychological landscape, the study positions painting as both visual documentation and critical reflection. Rather than presenting cultural change solely as loss, the paintings interpret it as an ongoing negotiation between continuity and adaptation, demonstrating the potential of practice-led painting to investigate changing material culture through conceptual visual language.