Tayo Quaye is one of Nigeria’s leading artists and a gifted printmaker who has specialised in making complex large-scale colour lino-cuts. He trained at the Yaba School of Technology in Lagos, followed by a two-year apprenticeship with the artist Bruce Onobrakpeya, himself an inventive printmaker. This piece, Titles, is an ambitious complex work. The artist was inspired by the actions of Nigeria’s ruling class during the two periods of military rule: 1966-79 and 1983-99. Members of the political and military classes bought themselves traditional titles to escape prosecution after embezzling and/or mismanaging public funds. These traditional titles conferred on their holders a degree of immunity, and Quaye is here satirising the self-righteous and untouchable aura of these men.

The print is fascinating in its conflation of power and pose. The ruler, enthroned, wears military fatigues with a traditional headress and richly decorated robes as he uses his newly purchased status to ‘disguise’ his military past. He is presented in full colour; the crowds of angry and perturbed men behind him are in black and white.

Technically the work is impressive, not only for its unusual size but also for the subtle blending of colours – in particular the reds and oranges of the ruler’s robes. The first impressions were printed in September 1997 while Quaye was in Edinburgh for an artist’s residency.