About this artwork

We often hear about tyrannical African leaders that enriched themselves and starved their people. Few Africans have received global recognitions for greatness and positive accomplishments. O. Yemi would not like to be a Hero-worshiper, but sporadic positive news about achievements of few great African leaders like President Mandela make him proud to be an African. He jumped for joy when he heard the news that Professor Wole Soyinka was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986. His Noble Prize Award in Literature and his 2009 Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award inspired O. Yemi to do this painting of Professor Soyinka “Soyinka- An Africa Literary Icon.”

Like in his painting, “Portrait of an Artist”, O Yemi chose to use Wole Soyinka’s literary achievement for this painting. O. Yemi visualized Professor Wole Soyinka’s iconic grey Afro-hair as an opened book from which diverse letters and words flow out. He arranged the letters into the titles of some of Soyinka’s books. He used the open book for his subject’s upper and lower lips from which letters are also flowing out to form the moustache and beard of his subject. O. Yemi arranged some of the letters that formed the beard into one of Professor Soyinka’s political writings, “Ibadan – The Pelenkelemes Years” first to show Professor Soyinka as a provocative political activist and secondly, to show Ibadan as the birth place of the artist. The body of the portrait is a book.