Adetola Wewe, is with me in Austin, Texas, posing with the first painting he completed and signed as an artist in residence at the University of African Art Residency, Texas, Austin.
Yoruba Numbers: Ení, Èjì Ẹ̀ta
Yoruba culture, using the Ifa dimension, is quite visual.
I therefore designed a Yoruba writing system that is essentially visual.
Olodumare laughed when the Nigerian contingents
Stood up to present their case
before the throne of the Most High.
Olodumare said, “Active and passive
are equal and opposite
to effect the law of balance.
In the beginning
I created the most talented people
In a landscape mischievously named Nigeria.
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
HOUSE OF THE HEAD: ÒRÙLÉ ORÍ
The latest addition to the Àkòdì Òrìṣà
is the ÒRÙLÉ ORÍ,
the House of the Head.
Órí is the most important òrìṣà
in Yoruba divinity.
Hey, world out there
I hunker down here
and hail you, dear friend,
for we now live in the world
of virtual friends
but you can’t hug anymore.
We live in a new world.
Reunited with my painting.
Title: Fragments of the Shattered Gourd
Medium: terrachroma on canvas
Date: 2008