I HOPE THIS OFFENDS YOU (2025)

When I painted this, I was thinking about control, especially the kind that hides behind belief. The ropes bind his body and silence his mouth, so he cannot speak or question. The book is pressed against his head, not offered, forced there to represent faith imposed instead of chosen. The garment is the same color as the Nigerian prison uniform and number strip him of identity and reduce him to a system(419 refers to Section 419 of the Nigerian Criminal Code which addresses obtaining property by false pretenses). Lastly, his hat is a traditional Yoruba hat but instead of facing the side, it’s facing forwards which in Yoruba culture alludes hopelessness. I titled it “I HOPE THIS OFFENDS YOU” because if it unsettles you, you should ask yourself why.