Arresting house. The house, because it is so arresting, led to my arrest as its owner and builder. They came to arrest the house—not just the architect.
The house is the culprit. They came to place it behind bars. They had no problems with setting the designers and builders free as long as they are able to lock away the arresting building.
II The doctor is Seyi Ogunjobi, an artist in residence at the Obafemi Awolowo University’s Center for Cultural Studies. He has been assisting me to build the ÀKÒDÌ ÒRÌṢÀ. At the exact time the police was storming the construction site of the ÀKÒDÌ ÒRÌṢÀ, Ogunjobi, a Leeds doctorate in creative arts, was moderating a discussion in the lecture theater of the Center for Cultural Studies, at the Obafemi Awolowo University campus. Part of the seminar series of the center where Ogunjobi works, his duties include hosting the seminar series, at which invited guests presents on a regular basis. Yesterday, Ogunjobi was moderating a seminar that I presented, titled, “Invisible Canvas: Painting as Performance in Ile Ife.”
The first report (summer 2018)
Yesterday, July 5, 2018.
ÀKÒDÌ ÒRÌṢÀ
I was arrested by the Nigerian Police yesterday.
To be fair to them, they were angry with my new building, the ÀKÒDÌ ÒRÌṢÀ, in Ile Ife. The police landed in trucks, arms, uniforms, and plain clothes to storm the construction site. There were about ten workers at the site when the police came. The previous day when the police arrived the workers fled into the surrounding bushes, abandoning their tools, unused building materials and the entire construction area.
Isn’t it so wonderful to be back home in Nigeria, to spend time on the very land in which you grew up, to measure what has remained the same, evaluate the changes, and survey the landscape with an eye irrevocably altered through gazing at other countries and interacting with foreign landscapes?
Artist and curator of Akodi Orisa adding finishing touches to the phallic-nipple crown of the dome.
Dear friends
I will begin my summer research trips today and will spend two months on the road.
I will update you as I travel.
Have a great week.
National flags are often given nicknames and aliases that convey the love of the people for their countries. Below, here, is a list of national flags and their aliases.
Nigerians do not have a nickname for their flag.
Stage One
I have divided the canvas into 256 rectangles.
Next stage? To insert the alphabets of Ifa in each of the rectangles.
Daughter: “Dad, I’m leaving. Bye now.”
Me: “Where are you going?”
Daughter: “Home. Have you forgotten?”
Me: “Forgotten what?”Daughter: “Dad, I’m leaving. Bye now.”
Me: “Where are you going?”
Daughter: “Home. Have you forgotten?”
Me: “Forgotten what?”
Congratulations to my darling daughter, Olatoun Okediji.
She became a US citizen today.
We traveled to San Antonio for the ceremony.
That which soars up
Down will return
Lálá tó ròkè
Ilẹ̀ ló ń bọ̀.
This work that I completed in 1980 was stolen from my house in Nigeria around 1994.
If anyone is in possession of it, please know that it is stolen work.
This work and more than fifty masterpieces were stolen from my apartment