The installation
I am installing huge paintings by Adetola Wewe inside my gallery in Austin Texas.
Adetola Wewe is the first resident fellow of the University of African Art, Austin, Texas Campus.
SAY IT NOW
SAY IT NOW
When you speak to yourself at night
be not afraid to speak truth
to thunder using the language of proverbs
to deliver music to homeless soldiers
eating from street dumpsters
with long spoons dining with the devil
wearing rifles loaded with a silver lining
Back to class.
Back to class. School has changed.I now teach remotely from home,talking to my laptop,addressing cyberspace from my house,as if it was real life. Where does life end and fantasy begin?Nobody knows, nobody cares.
Adetola Wewe posing with the first painting…
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.
Adetola Wewe
Adetola Wewe is with me in Austin Texas.
He is here as an artist in residence in the art center/gallery that I began recently.
He is chilling here with some àsun that he brought with him from Nigeria, and one of the local beers in Austin.
The Massacre of General Okoro
The Massacre of General Okoro
Is it funny
or merely coincidental
That, as they killed her son,
the mother was dreaming
She was breastfeeding him?
PARABLE OF IJAPA and CHILD
PARABLE OF IJAPA and CHILD
There is an old Yoruba proverb that says “The child insisting that his mother must not sleep will also not get any sleep.” (Ọmọ tó ní ìyá òun ò ní í sùn kò ní fojú ba oorun).
Women who nurse babies know the challenge of getting enough sleep while a baby is still unable to understand the difference between night and day. The baby keeps waking up to feed, cry, poo and pee.
The mother must attend to all the needs of the baby during the night. Typically, for the mother, therefore, it is a long, wearying night.
The poor mother gets up in the morning having caught almost no sleep, exhausted and drained physically and emotionally.
Yet she must face another day of sleeplessness and ceaseless labor until the baby grows up.
Now think of the story of Ijapa.
PARABLE OF THE BOASTFUL BIRD
PARABLE OF THE BOASTFUL BIRD One upon a time, a colorful bird known as Orofo was sad because she did not have even a single child. All the other birds, including Ega, Alapandede, and Eyele had lots of children. Orofo was worried.Sometimes she would lay many eggs, and none of them would hatch. At other times, as she pushed the eggs out of her womb, they would fall from her nest and break.
METAMODERNISM: THE FUTURE OF THEORY
Moyo Okediji will be in conversation with Jason Storm
Event: The book launch of METAMODERNISM: THE FUTURE OF THEORY
When: Aug 27, 2021
02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
HOW TO DEVELOP A MUMUCRACY
HOW TO DEVELOP A MUMUCRACY
My friend in Nigeria said she is starting poultry.
She said she would just buy a couple of hens, feed them, and daily she would collect eggs from them and eat them.
“Impossible,” I said. “The hens would attack you and poke out your eyes.”
THE BIRTH OF RAINBOW
THE BIRTH OF RAINBOW
One of my earliest memory is that of both my parents standing me up and inspecting me up in detail. They were worried I was not masculine enough.I was too thin and supple, even for an infant boy.Every evening they made me consume a powdery substance called CASILAN. I have googled Casilan and found that it is a protein used by bodybuilders to build muscles.
AJÁ AND ÀGÙNTÀN
AJÁ AND ÀGÙNTÀN
In the olden days, Aguntan, the sheep, was the most respected animal in the entire Yorubaland.
Aguntan was the embodiment of Iwapele (gentleness of character), suuru (patience) and iforiti (perseverance).
The entire world decided that Agutan was the best fellow to be crowned the king because of his wonderful character.
They made Agutan the king, and the world was happy and prosperous.