SneakersSOLDIER & THE AIR JORDAN 4 MILITARY BLACK
20 May 2022To mark the launch of the Air Jordan 4 "Military Black", END. visited Soldier, the Lagos-born multihyphenate, at his studio based in East London.
Soldier, real name Leonard Iheagwam, is a Lagos born, London-based multihyphenate with a bevy of creative endeavours under hist belt. His artwork consists of message-rich camouflage paintings, touching upon notions of concealment, subverting guerrilla warfare and his space within the contemporary art sphere.
Soldier also co-runs a skate collective and label named Motherlan, which represents one of the leading figures in the fast-rising skate scene of his home city, Lagos. The collective focuses on designing apparel, shooting skate videos and propelling their nascent community. Soldier’s creativity has recently extended to 3D sculptures and their design, with his own range of figurines, dubbed “The Cadets”, releasing soon — highlighting the multi-faceted nature at the core of Soldier's work.
This diversity is something reflected in the Air Jordan 4: a sneaker that has long been tapped into numerous subcultures, representing a fan-favourite in hip-hop, streetwear and basketball for decades. The latest iteration, dubbed the “Military Black”, showcases what makes the sneaker so covetable. As the name implies, the sneaker references the OG “Military Blue” from 1989, swapping out its blue accents for white, grey and black colour blocking.