Olana Janfa
Olana Janfa was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and emigrated to Norway as a teenager before relocating to Melbourne in 2015. Janfa began to paint in 2018 as a way to connect with his Ethiopian culture and create a deeper sense of home. He works with acrylic, oil and pastel to paint works on canvas, timber and recycled materials. A self-taught artist, Janfa was first inspired by the Ethiopian Orthodox religious artwork of his childhood.
Olana Janfa was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and emigrated to Norway as a teenager before relocating to Melbourne in 2015. Janfa began to paint in 2018 as a way to connect with his Ethiopian culture and create a deeper sense of home. He works with acrylic, oil and pastel to paint works on canvas, timber and recycled materials. A self-taught artist, Janfa was first inspired by the Ethiopian Orthodox religious artwork of his childhood.
His unique approach has since developed to draw inspiration from music, sport and popular culture – with Afrobeat, reggae and hip-hop lyrics often acting as a starting place for new works. Janfa’s vibrant, spirited and often humorous works have found their way into the hearts and homes of fans around the world.
In 2020, he collaborated with local fashion label Obus on the OLANA X OBUS collection, which was shortlisted by The Design Files in the TDF + Laminex Design Awards.
