When Guidance Fails



This painting, on a 20" x 16" canvas board, draws inspiration from the Yoruba proverb “Aja tó má sọ̀nù kìí gbọ́ fèrè Ọdẹ” — “A dog destined to be lost no longer heeds the whistle of the hunter.”

Painted against the backdrop of a fiery sunset, the hunter watching his dog walking across the savanna separated by a lone tree and the fading sun.

The glowing sky, streaked with red and orange, symbolising both warning and inevitability of a destiny unfolding beyond control. The hunter stands firm with his spear, a figure of authority and guidance, yet the dog, already straying, suggests the futility of counsel when fate has taken its course.

This work evokes the tension between choice and destiny, obedience and rebellion, guidance and wandering representing a reflection of human experience.

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