₦3,500,000.00
Dimensions: 3 × 4 ft
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Date: 28.09.2026
What They Carry explores the Otu Odu, one of the most prestigious women’s institutions in Onitsha. Members are traditionally distinguished by ivory ornaments worn on the wrists and ankles, alongside white wrappers and head coverings and coral beads during ceremonial occasions.
Rather than depicting a specific ceremony literally, I present a group of Otu Odu women in movement, emerging from an almost ethereal white atmosphere. Their bodies, gestures and expressions are carefully rendered, while their garments gradually dissolve into the surrounding space. The movement of the women is central to the work. Drawing from the importance of dance, music and procession within Onitsha ceremonial life, I use expressive brushwork to suggest rhythm through their bodies and flowing garments. Ofala, one of the most significant ceremonies in Onitsha, brings together the Obi, titled institutions, music, dance and communal celebration as an expression of cultural continuity.
The restrained palette of creamy white, nude peach, pastel blue-grey and muted green creates an ivory-like atmosphere, referencing the Odu ornaments that distinguish the women while allowing their presence to emerge from the canvas. The women appear to carry not only their ceremonial adornments, but also their bodies, femininity, achievements, histories and responsibilities.
Ultimately, What They Carry considers the Otu Odu women as carriers of cultural memory and communal identity. What they carry is both tangible and intangible: adornment, tradition, dignity, womanhood, achievement and the responsibility of carrying a culture forward. In this sense, the painting is not only about what has been inherited, but about what continues to be carried, embodied and passed on.
