Oba of Benin, Innocent Akhigbe 2019 Mathew B. Oyedele Innocent Akhigbe’s delineation of African personalities is dramatic and mimetic. It recalls the importance of every moment of laughter, victory, action, purpose and bravery. It also highlights how time gets frozen by the hands of the artist. One recalls the photographic collection of Ike Ude , a Nigerian born New York photographer, entitled, “ Nollywood Portraits: A Radical Beauty” where he graciously created a dramatic atmosphere of light and colour. Contrarywise, Innocent’s portraits are mostly rendered in black and white, but his generous use of chiaroscuro is the main element that spices up his renditions. The process begins by planning and visualizing the subject on the loom before interlacing his weft back and forth to highlight the disposition of his subject. Nelson Mandela, Innocent Akhigbe 2018 He confides that the artistic ambience in the city of Benin has offered him a great deal of philosophical knowl
Review of the arts.