Memoir
6,6,23
The sweet days at home with my plants and paintings are a welcome
break from the full-on childcare times with darling grandson Ife. Even if a lot of what I do at home is for him
and my darling daughter his mum Esther.
Right now, I am making the outfits we will wear for the Baby Show. Ha ha or Je Je, as it is here, Baby Show,
imagine that back in the day no, no, ´no existee para mi´, but of course people
came bearing gifts, when they ready to see baby Esther. Ayo is in mama´s huge tummy even larger since
her return from New York. She bought a
load of printed Kente clothes, a great full skirt for me and a dress for
herself so full of fabric that I can make Ife´s shirt from the sleeves. So I am working on that and some other jobs
right now in my lovely home which is ostensibly a working studio space where I can
just work on all my creative projects. Of
course, when Ife comes it is almost impossible to put things away out of his
reach, so he goes around examining and having a go at everything. The
other day he looked so observantly into a painting he saw a background figure
in it that he considered existed in another and so dragged the canvas to me to
explain his findings, I listened attentively simultaneously trying to save the
canvas from being poked. I was incredibly
impressed by his intelligence, ha ha.
So today it is background salsa con El Sol radio all the way
whilst working on completing the Yurumangui series of ´San Antonio elders´
resulting artworks and portraits from our Dec 2020 visit. This work is still in progress going into the
third year but very nearing completion. I
am always on several things at once so currently working on lifetime patchwork quilt,
the outfits for baby show, the San Antonio completion as well as ´Benin Return´
or ´none return´. The Benin Return being
the following of the debates, discussion and final returns of objects solen
from Benin city Nigerian in 1897 by the British and housed all over the world
in private collections, museums and universities. So far few returned and the British Museum or
Brutish Museum as Dan Hicks so rightly
calls it has managed to avoid any returning by shear evasion of the reality of
the argument, being that they do not legally belong to them and they are the thieves
holding them. Other objects artifacts having
been sold and distributed for wealth; it is disgusting. So far Cambridge University and the Scottish Aberdeen
university have returned a single object each and The Horniman Museum which I
greatly respect for it´s good work is at least close, Germany have returned
several and none others to date as I believe.
Yesterday I ordered ice
cream and crepes with fruits of the forest from Crepes & Waffles, wow x2 so
for breakfast delicious treat. With my
usual papaya and fresh orange juice so, so good too.
I have continued this morning to work on the only non-elder
from Yurumangui series, Daniel as he stands in the middle of the village ´pueblo´,
he told me at the time that he travels to Juntos regularly to work in the mines
for gold. I wonder if that continues to
be the case given all that has occurred in the region since. A follow up time will come. Also working
to finish ´Dalia and Ife´ from photo taken by Esther on 20th April
2021 in San Antonio, I think. I have a
painting of Carlos Rosero, who I first met with Esther in Nov 2016 while I was
still living in London before I moved here.
Also when I first met Sofie and baby Lumumba who are beloved extended
family and great friends. Back to
painting of Carlos from a photo I took in 2021 in Mayorquin a beautiful place I
have yet to return too. There is not
enough time to do so much I have to do and a baby grandson due in August nieto
Ayo. Wonderful praise be to the Yoruba goddesses
indeed.
