The visual character.
The visual character of the alphabetical design that I did for the Yoruba people is actually universal.Even those who are visually challenged can experience it in a tactile form as braille characters.
Ení, Èjì Ẹ̀ta
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.
OSUMARE: RAINBOW GALLERY
OSUMARE: RAINBOW GALLERY
At the Akodi Orisa Sanctuary, Ile Ife, we have just completed the Rainbow (Osumare) Gallery.
The Rainbow is the mixture of fire and water blazing with luminous intensity across the middle belt of the sky, affirming the unity of all colors, all peoples, all races, all tongues, all hands and heads, committed to the principle of creativity.
TRADE BY BARTER
TRADE BY BARTER
Our ancestors did not have money, but they traded across the vast continent of Africa, through Europe and as far away as China.
Goods from Africa traveled across thousands of miles throughout the world, even at a time when we did not use money in Africa.
Disappointments can be a blessing.
Disappointments can be a blessing.
If Nigeria had not disappointed me, I would not be in Ghana now.
But because the political situation in Nigeria has dampened my spirit with the killing of thousands of people, the daily abduction of ordinary citizens, the lawlessness and lack of judicial repercussion for those who plunder the coffer of the country, I have started shifting my gaze away from Nigeria, and started looking at other African countries for a place to vacation, invest and create.
Ọwọ́ as Hand and Eye
Ọwọ́ as Hand and Eye
I showed Iya Oyo the drawing of her portrait I made one day. She said, “Ọ̣wọ́ rẹ gún,” (Your hands are straight), as she admired the portrait.
Baba Oyo responded with, “Ojú rẹ̀ gún” (His eyes are straight).
I was baffled. “What is straight, my eye or my hand?” I asked them.
USAIN BOLT
I can beat Usain Bolt, the sprint legend, in a one hundred meter dash.
How is that possible?
Simple: if he ties up one of his legs and sprints me by hopping down the track on just one leg.
OSETURA PRIMARY ELECTIONS
OSETURA PRIMARY ELECTIONS
How must men and women interact to produce harmony and efficiency in a community?
The extract below is taken from the Odu Osetura.
DIFFICULT PRAYERS
DIFFICULT PRAYERS
Iya Oyo mumbled a growl to the greeting, when a neighbor said, “A kò ní rí alákǒbá o.” It means “May we not be the victim of a saboteur,”
I said, “Iya Oyo, you did not say Àṣȩ” to that man’s prayer.”
MEANINGLESS WORD
MEANINGLESS WORD
“Food is not ready,” Iya Oyo informed me. “This is just a snack. I know you are hungry” In Yoruba she said “Fi eléyìí panu. Mo mọ̀ pé ebi ti ń pa ẹ́.”
She left me a bowl full of boiled groundnuts. I loved boiled groundnuts. It was still in the shell. “You can throw the shells here after cracking them.” In Yoruba , she said, “Pa èèpo ẹ̀pà ná à sínú abọ́ yìí.
HARD BODIES
HARD BODIES
I called one of my former teachers, and he picked up phone.
he is 80 and it is always fun to speak with him.
KỌ́LẸ́Ẹ̀JÌ ONÍGBÁMÉJÌ.
Professor Adeleke Adeeko has used my recent painting for the cover of his new book, titled KỌ́LẸ́Ẹ̀JÌ ONÍGBÁMÉJÌ.
It is a translation of Femi Osofisan’s book, titled CHOLERA COLLEGE.
Professor Adeeko teaches at Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.