Igba 2017

Laolu Senbanjo created 'Igba', a striking painting, using monochrome colours. The Yoruba-Nigerian artist's work addresses identity. Senbanjo is internationally known for his body art, in which he covers the human form with traditional Yoruba patterns and symbols. These derive from the indigenous religious beliefs of the Yoruba people, whose homeland is in south-western Nigeria and southern Benin. This image creates meaning through the tension between the globalized art world, which seeks out the new, and the local knowledge contained in Yoruba religious traditions. The painting shows a body in a posture of tension and pain, yet it is also a celebration of Yoruba cosmology and spirituality. The patterns are not decorative. Instead, they represent a visual code through which the artist can represent the human condition as one of cultural richness. The role of the historian is to reveal the cultural context of 'Igba' and show how it comments on the social structures of its own time. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context.