Art x Adẹ

The first thing that attracted me to Grace was her simplicity and the gentle aura of innocence that characterised her first appearance. She had also come home for Christmas. I liked Grace from the very moment I set eyes on her. I saw her across the road opposite my family home and approached her as if we had met before. This was my usual approach for starting a conversation with any girl I saw, liked, and wanted to know better. She responded with calmness and humility. She had a small camera in her hands, and I asked if she would like to take my picture. With a tone that felt like an unspoken invitation to continue, she said it wouldn’t be necessary. I introduced myself and mentioned that I would like to meet her again if possible. We met a few more times before I left Ogidi for Lagos, but I promised to visit her in Ilorin, where she lived with her parents. Before leaving Ogidi for Lagos, I told my mother I had found the girl I wanted to marry and asked her to find out mor...

This composition draws from the wisdom of the Okun proverb, “Ẹghọn'la baba muu ẹka baba jẹẹ” , which translates as “The father’s cow has eaten the father’s corn.” It is a scene rooted in my own early life experiences growing up in rural Nigeria, where cattle rearing was not only part of my daily life, but part of my identity, responsibility, and family survival. The figures depicted a child herder with a stick and an elder in traditional attire waking early, guiding the animals, and learning the delicate balance between nurturing and protecting. The cow, painted in striking yellow, stands for both sustenance and disruption, a reminder that sometimes, even what we cherish can undo us, not out of malice, but through the natural course of life. The proverb speaks to more than livestock and corn. It speaks to family, inheritance, and the quiet conflicts that occur when personal and communal interests overlap. In the background, the huts and forest reflect a world that onc...