Oruko mi ni\, (My name is) presents Yoruba knowledges to redire ct the focus from Ere Ibeji (Yoruba wooden twin figure) to the cul tural traditions surrounding Ibeji (Yoruba twins). Ere Ibeji is a wooden figure carved in honour of a twin who died and is the domin ant visual material that Western collections associate with Yoruba twins fr om Nigeria. Yorubas believe that twins share a soul: the family treats the carved figure as they would if the twin was still physically present. As a result\, the twin is fed\, washed\, and cared for in a domestic setting.
Focusing on Yoruba oral tradition and narratives\, Oruko m i ni asks how we can view Ibeji with tools from their place o f origin\, not looking to Western collections to tell Ibeji storie s. Furthermore\, where can the Yoruba understanding of history\, twinship a nd documentation practice lead us? Can the Yorubas’ knowledge of Ibeji info rm how we reorient ourselves in relation to the world?
O ruko mi ni will be held in two parts. The first will be online with Af ropolis.org as a two-day event (26-27th June 2021) that brings together pla ywright Prof. Ahmed Yerima\, scholar Dr. Kole Ade-Odutola and dancer Qudus Onikeku\, to emphasize that these knowledges surrounding Ibeji hav e their origin in oral tradition. The second part is embedded within an exh ibition called Sankofa: African Routes\, Canadian Roots\, at the U niversity of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology (October 21\, 2021- March 27\, 2022) and will include Ere Ibeji from the MOA collection context ualized by contemporary photography of twins by Nigerian photographer\, Ste phen Tayo.
Oruko mi ni: Reinterpreting Ibeji is curated by O luwasayo Taiwo Olowo-Ake\, a candidate for the MA in Critical and Curatoria l Studies at the University of British Columbia. The project is presented b y Afropolis.org with support from the Killy Foundation and the Audain Endow ment for Curatorial Studies through the Department of Art History\, Visual Art and Theory in collaboration with the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Galler y at the University of British Columbia.
Public critique with Dr. Julie Crooks to be held at 3pm June 29\, 2021 on Zoom
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