Twins Seven-Seven: The Glocal Framing of an International Artist in Memorial Pages

Abstract

On 16 June 2011, the foremost Nigerian visual artist, Taiwo Osuntoki, popularly referred to as Twins Seven-Seven, passed away. His passing, as is common with personalities of that nature, elicited some interesting memorials across the world. Family members, close friends, admirers, art collectors and colleagues in the art community in Nigeria and across the globe flooded the art space with glowing tributes, lauding an iconic figure whose works were known to reflect the embodiment of Yoruba folklore, mythology, spiritual, ghostly and invisible worlds. This article draws on a descriptive analysis of memorials in selected local and international print media and academic outlets (journals). The intention is primarily to identify and examine some of the memorials and then engage them in ways that help to understand how Twins Seven-Seven’s image was conceived in global as well as local contexts. Given his complex and multipersonality, we ask how memorials shape the meanings that could be associated with Twins Seven-Seven’s life generally. Lastly, the paper is a fitting tribute to one of Africa’s greatest postcolonial artists, whose passing now marks more than a decade.