Ayọ̀ Akínwándé
Baobab: The Tree of the Gods
2022/2023
Performance
3- channel video, sound, colour
16mins each
“With vivid imagery and imagination, Ayọ̀, invokes the spirits of the Baobab.”
Red, the colour of blood, the colour of the living juxtaposed with white, the colour of tranquility, the spiritual realm. Three screens show this continuum with the middle screen performance appears to tie the right and left performances into a complete not separate 3 performances. This unison is shown as the subject in the middle screen walks back and fro to either side. One interpretation could be passing of souls from either plane. Another could be the tethered nature between the dead and living, new and old, chaos and silent meditation. The latter well depicted by the dove stooped unspooked on the subjects head as they sit in silence in front of the baobab tree. The several rituals performed are in reference to the fact that in numerous African cultures, certain trees like the Baobab tree or Mukuyu or Mugumo tree of the Agīkūyū , were held sacred spaces to honour the ancestors and Gods.
The baobabs are centre piece and main subject of the still camera performance. However it also provides a tall and looming backdrop for the performance engulfing the stage with their glorious presence. The performance is a litany of Yorùbá spiritual elements where each element serves a different purpose. From an outsiders view, each element appears to venerate the Baobab tree and nature it’s significant role in human spirituality. From it one can glean the millions of years of human-nature interactions. It is no wonder why such an awe-inspiring relationship can then be seen as spiritual and sacred.
The performance essentially evokes a sacrificial ritual, which at one end is open to individual interpretation on the one hand, on another, it is closed and reserved for only the initiated.