Funlola Coker
she/they/+
Funlola Coker is a metalsmith from Lagos, Nigeria. In 2007 Fun moved to Memphis, TN to pursue a BFA in Sculpture from Memphis College of Art. They are fascinated by history, the evolution of culture and storytelling. Fun creates works that call on nostalgic memories and moments of the mundane that are held dear. She has taught at notable craft institutions such as Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts (upcoming summer 2022).
Fun’s work has been exhibited at Brooklyn Metalworks, the Fuller Craft Museum, Tone Gallery in Memphis and the National Ornamental Metal Museum. In 2020, they received the Arts Memphis Arts Accelerator grant, and were a 2022 Thayer Fellowship recipient from the SUNY Rockefeller Institute of Government. She holds an MFA in Metal from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
"Slippery Space[s]
What happens when your context for remembering is six thousand miles away? Immigrants experience this phenomenon of liminality every day. We are time travelers, aliens, and others. We live in the past while navigating the present. I construct objects and settings as portals that address this loss.
We remember by way of texture. Marks and patterns can recover an obscure past. Molten pewter fills the void of carved marks. Chiseled stone becomes an anchor for weighted memories. The shifting, slippery spaces in the vastness of our minds become moments of solace."
What does [queerphoria] mean to you? This can be something felt, experienced, or made.
“This is evolving and ever changing for me.
I am a gender nonconforming artist. I am interested in telling stories of the immigrant experience through sensory immersive installations and objects. I explore ideas of memory, displacement and story telling rooted in Yoruba mythology and science and speculative fiction.
It means finally accepting who I am, and learning to be proud. Getting to share my work and experiences with other queer makers. Immersing myself in a community and sharing the many nuances of queerness.
Gender is expansive, and the way that we perceive ourselves continues to evolve.”
Igba - Copper, Alabaster, Foam, Foam Coat, Sand, Paint | 4ft x 1.75ft
“As a person who exists in liminal spaces, queerness feels synonymous to the way that I approach making. I live as an immigrant, yet disconnected from my birth country. I move between the expectations of gender in the material and processes that I choose to work with.
I come from a culture that is rooted in craft, including metalwork. I think for me, queer metal is a way of connecting to that history.
I connect to my ancestry through my work and consider myself a vessel for sharing the rich and diverse history of the Yoruba people. Our stories are not monolithic, our culture is vast, and we are more than an aesthetic to be appropriated.
I think of queer metal as an avenue for expressing ideas and sharing histories. As queer metalsmiths, we present new and alternative lenses of viewing the world. To me, it is not always about working in opposition to what already exists in our field, but asserting the beauty and complexity of otherness.”
What does being queer mean to you in relation to your material choices? Is it something you consider?
“Both, I think!”
Is the work queer because the maker is queer, or is it queer because the subject matter is queer?
Asan - Copper, Alabaster, Foam, Foam Coat, Sand, Paint | 4ft x 2.5ft | 2022
“I don't think I'm specifically thinking about how the viewer interacts with the queerness in my practice. The viewer is certainly considered as I like to guide the viewer using the space available and create an experience.”
“Oh boy. I think my life influences my work in so my ways. All of my experiences are tied to the stories I aim to share with my work. Even when not in the studio physically making work, so much of my life is rooted in it.”
What role does your studio practice play in your identity- if at all?
When creating your work, do you consider the relationship your object has with the viewer?
Ailopin - Copper, Alabaster, Foam, Foam Coat, Sand, Paint | 2.5ft x 2ft | 2022
We've asked you a lot of our questions... What is one thing you would like to share?
“As much as I enjoy being in the studio, baking is really important for me. Being in the kitchen and going through specific steps in a recipe, or making something up is wonderful for my brain. The end results are pretty tasty too :)”