Bèbè Ìdí (Beaded Waistline)
Artist: Moyo Okediji
Title: Bèbè Ìdí (Beaded Waistline)
Medium: Terracotta
Date 2010
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O: THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
O: THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
To pronounce this sound,
turn your lips into a circle.
Then push the air
through your lips,
gently,
then forcefully.
The sound comes out in a continuous flow
until you are out of breath:
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
That is the sound
FISHERS OF MEN
Fat turds float on top
of the water well
in 9ja social waters
dressed to look like fishes:
they are not
the ones you seek,
Far below the layers of turds
you will find spring waters
INVISIBLE MAN SERIES
Nobody, except I tell them, can figure out that in this painting lies a figure.
If you can decipher the figure, tell me what you see.
If you take a guess, I will inbox you with the answer.
Soon after you make a guess, check your inbox for the answer.
LOOKING BACK
LOOKING BACK
I
Exile, however sweet,
for home makes the heart yearn.
Àjò kìí dùn
kónílé gbàgbé ilé.
I colored the Yoruba proverb above for emphasis.
Why?
Because everybody living in Nigeria is a hero.
It is often akin to being a kamikaze pilot in WWII.
They just survived the #EndSars uprising.
The Crossroads
I went into my garage and found a harvest of forgotten canvases waiting for me.
This corona break has given me some time to look at what I already have produced.
This is the last painting I did in 1992, just before leaving Nigeria.
You will notice that it is made from gouache.
Two New African Proverbs
Two New African Proverbs:
1. The same people who place their knee on your neck will also be the first to ask “Why can’t you breathe?”
2. The same people who are causing your sadness will also be the first to ask “Why can’t you laugh?”
(Adapted from the Yoruba proverb, “Ẹ́ni tí ó bá sọ ni di olóríburúkú ni ó kọ́kọ́ má a ń fi bú ni: