Owo Laso Oge
On money, society, and the architecture of belonging
OLANREWAJU TEJUOSO, 2019
ORIGIN OF THE TITLE
The title of this work is drawn from the lyrical genius of Ayinla Omo Wura, a towering legend of Nigerian music and a proud son of Abeokuta, the same ancestral city that shapes the spirit of this piece. Ayinla had an extraordinary command of language and life philosophy, and in one of his most celebrated verses he distils a universal truth into a few lines of Yoruba:
"Owo laso Oge, Bi ko so wo, Faari kosi, Eyin Somori"
It is money that clothes the socialite. Without it, there is no glamour, no standing, and the celebrated elites of society would be nothing. In these words, Ayinla does not moralise, he observes. Money is the fabric of social identity; it is what allows one to be seen, applauded, and remembered in the company of great men and women.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORK
This artwork operates as a visual voice for a philosophy both ancient and enduringly modern: that without financial agency, much of what society calls achievement remains out of reach. Even the Bible, in Ecclesiastes 10:19, affirms that money answereth all things; a sentiment that crosses cultures and centuries. The financial industry sits at the very heart of every human endeavour, from the market trader in Ita-Eko, Abeokuta to the boardroom director in Lagos Island. This piece speaks directly to that reality, and is offered in connection with Ecobank, an institution that embodies the promise of financial inclusion and empowerment across the continent.
PALETTE & VISUAL LANGUAGE
The colour choices are deliberate and layered with meaning. Silver speaks to elegance and aspiration. Gold to wealth, honour, and radiance. Deep green anchors prosperity and the enduring life force of commerce. And threading through the entire composition, the touch of adire indigo.
That indigo is the signature of Abeokuta, the colour of the Egba people, the dye of adire textile tradition, the visual language of a heritage that has dressed kings and commoners alike. Its presence in this work is an act of homecoming, a declaration of where the artist's roots run deep. Old Nigerian currency is also woven into the composition, not as nostalgia, but as a bridge. The layman, the grandmother, the child on the street all can encounter an old note and understand at once the weight of Ayinla's declaration: without money, you are nothing to the world.
WHO ARE THE SOMORIS?
Ayinla speaks of the Somoris and every viewer will recognise them. They are the captains of industry, the chiefs and elders in full regalia, the directors and executives who command rooms, the big wings whose presence alters the air when they walk in. Chiefs & Elders. Captains of Industry. Directors and CEOs. Socialites and the Celebrated. To be among the Somoris is the aspiration. And according to Ayinla; according to this canvas, the path runs through owo; Money. The great leveller; The great enabler.
MEDIUM: Soft plastics, copper wire, staple pins, old currency and rob.
OLANREWAJU AYINLA TEJUOSO, 2019 ABEOKUTA NIGERIA