SON OF THE SOIL | A reminder of culture preservation
The world's beauty is in its diversity, people travel round the world for new experiences; the cultures and traditions, the languages and architecture, the dressing and moralities, the food and geography.
It would be naivety to give up your birthright, to not learn the language and ways of your people, to be unable to pass on the uniqueness of your culture to the next generation. If everyone did this, the world would gradually become a blur and lose its beauty. Yes you're enlightened, of course you're well read, It is still not an excuse to lose your identity, to neglect the distinctive values of your people.
One of the many faults (as I see it) that inspired this piece is the inability of many citizens of colonized bilingual countries to speak their mother tongue. Though many grew up in conditions where it was difficult to learn, the attitude towards getting that knowledge when you come of age is very important. Worse still is the "boogie" attitude towards the same topic, feeling like they're too enlightened or "woke" to speak anything but their adopted language. I've been privileged to have the finest education in top tier schools and institutions myself, but also taught to always respect my roots. I am proud to say I am very fluent in both English (My adopted language) and Yoruba (My mother tongue), big thanks to my upbringing.
SOTS is about that fusion, a perfect balance between being widely educated and being a genuine offspring of your native tribe; a model I would want for everyone.
Wars were fought, lives were lost, cities were left in ruins to give us the relatively huge degree of freedom we now enjoy. Philosophies have been trashed and the entire world is a relatively better place to be. So why try so hard to be what you're not? Why not embrace your culture and language? Why don't you embrace your beautiful skin and carry yourself with pride, as the King or Queen you are?
You can watch timeplases of the entire creation process on my youtube channel
Artist: Promise Abodunrin
Title: SON OF THE SOIL
Medium: Graphite and Charcoal on paper
Size: 25 by 30 inches
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