Native Tongue/Ogbe Oyeku

Title: Native Tongue/Ogbe Oyeku
Date: 2015
References: https://glamportal.auctr.edu/items/show/3418
Description: Painting
Abstract: Influenced by West African cultures, Fahamu Pecou’s works offer a critique on the contemporary topics of celebrity, media, and racism. Dr. Sean Meighoo coined the term “‘Fahamenology’ of performance,” describing the way Pecou’s works undo oppressive cultural structures of experience and consciousness, attempting a liberation of today’s marked male subject. Specifically, Native Tongue/Ogbe Oyeku depicts the artist himself, wearing a backwards Dan mask and sagging denim jeans, both politicized fashion statements. Both provocateur and griot, Pecou asserts his marked embodiment visible, inviting the viewer to contemplate the cross-cultural implications of ritual/resistance and life/death.
Medium: Acrylic and gold leaf on canvas
Creator: Fahamu Pecou
Rights: Clark Atlanta University Art Museum