On Sunday, August 8, 2021, Didi Museum – an upscale art exhibition center – in the heart of Lagos, played host to the 8th edition of the Living Legend series. The Living Legend series is a Still Life drawing artwork curated by Faith Eki Eboigbe and Olu Ajayi (both Visual arts impresario) intended to document the life drawings of individuals who have made indelible marks in the sands of time.
On the day considered to be the ‘’rest day’’ in a boisterous Lagos City, the serene one-storey building situated along Akin Adesola Street in highbrow Victoria Island provides the warmth and pride needed for the auspicious gathering. The event was a small circuit of family and friends, artists, journalists, well-wishers, and fans who didn’t deter the unforgettable memories presented by the different arts on display.
While guests made their way into the building dedicated to the memories of Edith Jibunoh (1941-1954), the sound of a background slow Jazz music and exquisite artefacts on display sparingly spread around the exhibition hall of the Museum created an interrelatedness of the Arts; a surreal ambience of sounds, sights, and visuals. Looking around the Museum populated by preserved artworks from the past created a nostalgic feeling.
The date marks significance in the annals of the Living Legend Series as it marks the 8th edition of the series on the 8th day in the eighth month of the year. It is also the first time an ace musician and veteran instrumentalist, Pa Lekan Animashaun (Baba Ani) who turns 85 in August 2021, is so honoured in like fashion. The honoree was in charge of Fela’s Egypt 80 band for decades, a close aide of the late Afrobeat King. In his own right, Baba Ani has earned his place among the Parthenon of heroic figures whose works and life inspires several generations.
Previous editions of the Living Legend Series have featured in no particular order: Literary icons, Professor Wole Soyinka and JP Clarke Berekedemo; Former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd); Journalist and Documentarist, Pa Benson Idonijie; Erstwhile Oba of Benin, Oba Erediuwa to mention but a few.
In retrospect, the Living Legend Series is an encounter between the artist and the subject – a connexion between two masterminds in registering the physical-ness of individuals whose milestones continually reverberate with great values to many. Baba Ani, under ageless contributions of his impeccable creativity to humanity, is worthy of the honour bestowed upon him.
Speaking on the event, Olu Ajayi (a celebrity Visual artist): ‘’The Celebrant is being immortalized on paper for posterity. Certainly, for you to be a legend in the first place, you are not obscure. A lot has been read about Baba Animashaun also known as Baba Ani. The drawings are not illustrational per se. It is an accumulation of what you have read and what you have seen. That is why I said we are interrogating the subject. It is a creative process, having an encounter with the legend that will enable you and afford you to share a space and encounter the legend – having contact with them and having a life study of the subject. In that process, the artist has the time to interact, interrogate and feel the subject. There is a conversation, a dialogue – but seen and unseen.’’
