nude

I belong To No One

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Follow the breeze and catch my ashes

For all that I am is gone with the wind

I saw the fire burning and put my fingers in it

And now I have been burnt to embers

I looked back because I saw you once more

But like Lot’s defiant wife

I got turned into a pillar of salt

Like ashes to ashes and dust to dust

The storm hath carried me away

And sprinkled my essence all over the earth

How ever will you find me?

I belong to no one now

Our memories are like leaves on a tree

Once green and full of life

But they will turn orange and brown when autumn returns

And finally fall to the ground

So think of me as an apple on a tree

Or the new growth from a seed planted in the soil

When the stream flows, I will flow with it

And when the rivers unite with the ocean

They will take me to its depths

I have given myself back to my origins

I will nourish the land

I will bring forth new fruits

I will be no more

Belonging to no one

 

Nina Fabunmi

http://www.ninafabunmi.com

To Have And To Hold

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Woman is like a treasure unto man, a measure of success, an affirmation of fulfillment in life. In Africa, a woman is often used to measure a man’s status in society. A woman adorned with precious jewels, pampered and clothed in the finest fabric would be a confirmation that her man was well to do.

In Christianity, God advises that a man love his wife like he (God) loves his church and in turn you will have her submission.

She will devote herself to you,mind body and soul.

Nudity is seen as humility in Art history and the Renaissance period.

This piece titled “to have and to hold” shows a bare African beauty, presenting herself on a platform to the man who has won her heart. She is his, to have and to hold.

‘To Have and To Hold’ , oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches, is currently in my solo exhibition , March 6 – April 25th at the Joyce Gordon Gallery,406 14th Street, downtown Oakland. For more information please visit http://www.joycegordongallery.com and http://ninafabunmi.com

The Middle Passage

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Need I say more, this piece speaks for itself. After many nights of watching Django unchained, I couldn’t get the images of the enslaved out of my head. It haunted me, followed me everywhere I went and finally, I spilled it out on a 5ft x 40 inches canvas and after I painted it, I was afraid of what I had created. I truly began to understand the fact that artists are controlled by forces greater than themselves. I am a medium for stories which need to me told. This is the migration story, it speaks of the bravery, torture an resilience of those who had to go through the middle passage. http://faso.com/boldbrush/painting/83594 http://www.ninafabunmi.com

She Lays and She Ponders

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Love! What is my offence?

I am here at my defense

In what way have I erred thee?

You have left me to my loneliness

The air is heavy and still

It’s descended upon me and made me a static

Motionless, awaiting your command

Yet I did all that you asked of me

Gave my body, my heart, my soul to you

You have stripped me and left me bare

Despite all that I share

I am waiting patiently

Believing in you, trusting you

Like a baby in the arms if its mother

But you have kept me in this state

I can’t take a breath without calling out to you

Food is tasteless

Sleep is like labor

You have possessed me

And like the blood that flows through my veins

I cannot live without you

So why then have you done this to me?

I lay and I ponder

http://www.ninafabunmi.com