Esan Acrobatic Dance

Artist: Joe Odiboh

Medium: Painting

This is inspired by the traditional dance in my homeland called ‘khianlimi” meaning dance of the dead ancestors. This particular painting depicts the dance in the royal palace of Ubiaja, Edo State, Nigeria.

Biography

An art teacher, actor, artist, comedian, and writer, Joe has been living under the Direct Provision system for more than 8 years as an asylum seeker since arriving in Ireland. He has recently been given the right to remain after fighting a deportation order. In 2012 he was presented with the “African Leadership and Excellence Award in Arts and Culture”, sponsored by the African Voice Newspapers in Ireland.

“The love of art and creativity is what motivates and drives me into creative affairs as a creative and active mind. What kills my morale is lack of painting, art workspace for full time art productions, and lack of exhibition opportunities. I find it hard to know what I intend to paint at times. Once I touch a canvas with paint and brushes, creativity manifests itself from out of the blue. Until I finish a painting, I really do not know how it is going to end. There are powerful forces that drive my art pieces. Forces from the kingdom of God for the gifted. These are forces of nature in art and creativity. I hope one day, someday to have my own art gallery and to take art to another new level.”

joeodiboh@gmail.com