‘Portrait of Aladeselu’ is one of Onobrakpeya’s rare forays into portraiture.
In 1973, a colleague of Onobrakpeya’s commissioned a portrait of his father. From conversations, Onobrakpeya got the impression that his colleague’s father was an herbalist, so he decided to build the painting around the beads and charms that were typical of that calling and create a portrait of a man with gravitas and wisdom.
The colleague insisted that the finished artwork looked nothing like his father – which was true.
The artwork had become more than a portrait. It had become something more fundamental, yet more generic. It had evolved from the portrait of one man, to a portrait that symbolised many of the men the artist admired.
It had become a story about strength, wisdom, and fortitude.