Black is Him

This piece of art tells the story of The Black Man. It is a story of hope, one that should motivate irrespective of the many hurdles that before him. The Black Man must overcome. The story is expressed with colours, colours that stand for the various Human races. These colours, do not only represent the […]

artiste Ovieonisofien Jerry Egwu Port Harcout, Rivers, Nigeria

I am Ovieonisofien Jerry Egwu, I was born in Port Harcourt City. In the course of my journey, I enrolled into the renowned University of Benin where I bagged a degree in Economics and Statistics. I also did pick up certain valuable skills, such as being “street smart” and surviving with almost nothing. I have […]

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This piece of art tells the story of The Black Man. It is a story of hope, one that should motivate irrespective of the many hurdles that before him. The Black Man must overcome. The story is expressed with colours, colours that stand for the various Human races. These colours, do not only represent the various races but also depicts the stratification of the global social community in a rainbow-like manner. These colour-lines ranging from white, yellow, red – mixed shades of black all represent the various races ranging from Caucasians, Mongolians – Mixed Blood – Negroid.

Africa happens to be the ancient hub of civilization! So, I cannot help but wonder why we are still where we are today. I am sure there are a thousand reasons why, although I see more excuses than I see reasons. History is important, quite alright, but like a driver behind the steering wheels, I pay more attention to what is in front of me than I do to what is behind. Just like a very good driver would make proper use of his side mirrors and rear-view mirror without losing sight of that which is before him. I too, do take a look at what is behind me, the past! But I do not dwell on it, rather I focus on what is in front of me and what is yet to come and so does this artwork

My work clearly shows the struggles of the black race, the black ground represents our fallen heroes, those who fought hard in order to unchain their shackled brothers and sisters from slavery. The black ground also represents the foundation on which the western world was built on; the blood, sweat and tears of our fallen slaved family. Finally, the black ground represents The Great Black man erased from the history books and the lies told that more blacks were in support of the slave trade as supposed to those that stood against it.

In the same vein, The Black Man with the bold spear carved out of a bamboo stick, represents bold Africans that have risen above global and societal constraints. These ones shine brightly and cast their lights on the darkness left behind by heavy clouds and rivers of biases that are being covered up with institutional lies. As they shine brightly they give others the permission to do the same. This is expressed in the artwork through the shadows and reflections of this Black Man, it is indeed a loud call to all those bold enough to follow suit. The world better be ready because greatness cannot be stopped!

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