WE WEAR THE MASK

"Out of Africa," out of Nigeria, out of her multitudinous generations of migrants and pilgrims, into the US and insistently returning to his homelands, Felix Osiemi brilliantly intertwines the abundant knowledge and "common sense" of Africa's rich artistic traditions with his own story of journey, vision and re­cognition, in this gathering of paintings which he calls “We Wear The Mask.” Donning the spiritual radiance and the mythical coat of many colours he has fashioned along the way, Osiemi's vibrantly multi­ layered paintings inscribe and embody the physical and metaphysical landscapes of his contemporary African diasporic imagination. His is the journey story of “a country man,” a native son, straddling the old and new divides between “north and south,” staring down the “Corridor of Power,” longing for Lagos, remembering Biafra, lamenting Chibook, grieving for Borno and praying artfully for Africa, for Nigeria.

Figures in fiery motion and metamorphosis burst from Osiemi's canvas, traversing time and space, their luminous forms ritualized and glistening with cowries and kente, batik and adinkra, gold and bronze, pigment and patina, the cartography and codicil of memory and history. Osiemi's figures dance, hurling themselves in bold colour and rich elaboration, from the fetters, the masks, the exile, the violent rent of both past and present. Osiemi’s figures dance. writhe, leap, and watch, from the vortex of his brush strokes, like ancestral sentinels jeweled in the market places of the global digital, in myth and dream, the sounds of the drum, the sounds of rocket and mortar, loss and confusion. And in the cacophony of their motion, they offer bold, fierce, resonant, recognition of the heart wrenching complexity, pain and possibility, wonder and beauty, of this moment in the human journey story. Gale Jackson August 14, 2015.

WE WEAR THE MASK “Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within,” James Baldwin We Wear The Mask is about the fear that stalls advancement. It is about the mask of deception behind which, we hide our fears and pain. A smile is not always a reflection of joy; on occasion it is a way to conceal sadness. We Wear The Mask is about the oppression, despair, melancholy and deprivation that fuels chaos, violence, and terror. Wole Soyinka's Kongi's Harvest influenced this work, a world of maladministration and blatant violence. It raises the challenge that hiding our intentions behind masks may be a form of slavish submission to the forces that shape our future.

I integrated African textiles and symbols on prints; Ankara, Adinkra, and other elements as part of my art-making process and sustained inquiries into identity The fabrics, the shifting dark lines, the form and movement connect with cultures of human experience. They dance with contemporary palettes. Can we remove the masks to find the door and ‘occupy’ the space between the walls that confine us. Whether real walls or the walls circumscribing our minds? Do we dare to engage and speak from our most intimate space and place? I believe that within the space between our masks and our fear is a true creative freedom that may lead to a bountiful harvest. These artworks create a conversation in response to the issues of our time. May I have this dance with you?

Felix Osiemi 2015