Tayo Adenaike

Born in 1954 in Southwestern Nigeria, Mr. Adenaike studied Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where in 1979 he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art and in 1982 received a Master of Fine Art degree in Painting.  A third generation artist of the Nsukka School following the Uli painting tradition, he has developed his own visual idiom and mastery of watercolor technique.  In his predominant fluid medium, his keen sense of color, design and composition give strength and character to his paintings. 

Ơjú róró ẃa, my mother would say to me, in our Ijebu dialect.  Depending on the occasion, her look could mean “Don’t eat what you have been offered,” “Get up and let’s go,” “Say yes,” “Say no”, or “Keep quiet.”  Every facial expression conveyed specific meaning and every visual admonition must be heeded.  Failure on my part meant a long pull on my ear or strokes of the cane the minute we got back home.

Ơjú róró ẃa, I knew what it meant.  These three simple Yoruba words translate as “Words come from the eyes,” “Words are embedded in the eyes,” “A face says it all” or “A face never belies the truth.”  Not one Yoruba-speaking person has been able to give me a concise and satisfactory English translation of these words, but none the less they all see some evocative strength in the expression.

This interaction between my mother and me, made me realize how much more powerful facial expressions are, than loudly spoken words.  Over time, I have also come to realize that facial expressions and unspoken words, can say a lot about the society we live in.  Within these frames, I have tried to capture faces and the emotions – the unspoken words that they portray.