Ifa-Yoruba
Contemporary Arts Trust and Lekan Babalola presents

SIXTEEN PIECES

It is with profound humility and boundless joy and excitement that I welcome you to experience 16 PIECES. The inspiration and impetus came to me in a dream, in which the consummate African American jazz impresario and musical innovator, John Coltrane was my muse. He instructed me that I should provide the public access to the lens - the brush - the drum high hat - of artists who were invested in spiritual growth and good, to interpret the ancient philosophy, symbolism and prescriptive information imbedded in the Ifa divination system. It was critical, Coltrane said, that traditional wisdom have a prominent place in new millennium thinking, but the mode of communication should be art and culture.

My gratitude and awe go to the 17 artists, Cassandra Wilson (USA), Carmelo Gonzalez Gutierrez Jnr (Cuba), Esubiyii a.k.a. Robert Tindon (UK), Ana Rosa Gutierrez Martinez (Cuba), Adam Pawley (UK), Monilola Foster (USA), Mufu Onifade (Nigeria), Senga Nengudi Fittz (USA), Alberto Pitta (Brazil), Seyi Ogunjobi (Nigeria/UK), Funmi Odusolu (Nigeria), Ella During (Nigeria), Eneida Sanches (Brazil), Afua Praba (Ghana/UK), Manny Vega (USA), Leroy Clarke (Trinidad), and Donnett Austin (Guyana/UK), who fulfilled their commissions, committed their visions to canvass, and created the work you are about to witness. (There are 17 paintings, one more than 16 because in any Yorùbá activity, Esu Elegbara is very important as the guidance of the crossroad and master for any ceremony. The work is outstanding and elevating viewed as individual pieces. But together they tell a beautiful story. It is apropos that the widest diversity of voices are telling the story - originating from Nigeria and Ghana, Brazil, Cuba and Trinidad, the United States and the United Kingdom. While the artists use different media and approaches, there is absolute continuity one from to the other and universality, as well as a commonality of goodness. The artists have surpassed viewer's hopes and expectations by creating permanent testimonies to the power and inspiration of the holy Odu of Ifá -from Éji Ogbé to Ofun Meji. Ifá oracle is believed to be the voice of the deities and ancestors of the sacred divination culture.

Ifa in Nigeria, Santeria in Cuba and Candomble in Brazil are the living embodiment of Yorùbá traditions found throughout the African Diaspora. Cuba and Brazil are the manifestation of the newfound Yorùbá world Ilé-Ifè (Nigeria) is the ancestral home of the Yorùbás who are well known for their rich heritage of arts and culture.

Odu of Ifá literary corpus consists of two parts; Odu and Ese (verse). The corpus is divided into two hundred and fifty six distinct volumes, the Odu and each Odu is subdivided into numerous chapters, the Ese. There are two categories of the Odu. The first consists of the Oju Odu (the principal odu)-, of which there are sixteen and it is these that we are celebrating with this project whilst the second category consists of the omo Odu (minor) of which there are two hundred and forty.

The Odu of Ifá is the oral history and beliefs as originally practised by the Yorùbás of West Africa. The sacred divination culture, the Odu of Ifá has spread, especially in the last 500 years, throughout the Globe, carried by the African Diaspora. Contained within the Odu of Ifá are the aesthetics of the Yorùbá people and the principles that lead their lives. In Britain today one can see and hear the legacy of the Odu of Ifá as expressed in carnival and contemporary arts and culture.

The 16 PIECES project was envisioned as an overarching structure for celebrating the Yoruba sensibility through art in the 21st century. It was curated with the aim of generating debate and understanding of Yorùbá culture and its role in contemporary society as Yorùbá descendants and practitioners migrate around the world, influencing all aspects of modern life. Ifá-Yorùbá Contemporary Arts Trust and myself hope in some way, you too feel connected to this energy and motion, and you too will appreciate the power and majesty of the work created for 16 PIECES. Thank you for sharing in the dream!

OLALEKAN BABALOLA
Curator