Adebowale’s The Man Who Didn’t Die In The Face Of Tyranny pays homage to Soyinka

PAYING homage to one of Nigeria’s brightest stars, Professor Wole Soyinka, who turned 90 last week, curator and producer, Oludamola Adebowale, has again, presented his Timeless Memories series, this time, based on the latter’s work, The Man Died.

The immersive celebratory experimental exhibition, titled, The Man who Didn’t Die in the Face of Tyranny, from the Timeless Memories: Elastic Effects of Wole Soyinka; kicked off on July 13, 2024 at Kongi’s Harvest Gallery, Freedom Park, Lagos and will end next Saturday, July 27, 2024.

Speaking with The Guardian, Adebowale said this is the seventh edition in the series and this particular exhibition is a celebration of the life and literary contributions of a true legend and a legacy that spans over nine decades. He said the project is not just another exhibition but an interrogatory piece of work, a deep exploration into the body of works of the eminent Nobel Laureate. “It takes inspiration from “The Man Died,” an account of his prison experiences. Through this exhibition, we endeavour to offer a unique glimpse into the mind of a literary genius who stood unflinchingly against tyranny, wielding the written word as his sword.”

Speaking on what led him to start the series, he said seven years ago, he decided to find a way to celebrate and interrogate the author’s body of works and his legacy by giving it a contextual point of view and allowing people to interrogate his body of works themselves too. Timeless Memories: Elastic Effects of Wole Soyinka was born.

“Last year, we did ‘The Man Who Did Not Die In The Face Of Tyranny’ for the first time, and it was conceived around the same book. It was well received and people liked what we did with the interpretation through the artwork, installation, sound and so on and Prof asked me to bring it back this year again.”

He added that the exhibition will go on tour next year. “This is a traveling tour and we will be moving to new places within and outside Africa,” he said.

Speaking on the audio-visual immersive experience that features a sparsely and dimly-lit ‘prison cell’ with a man seated on a chair with just the Holy Bible for company, Adebowale said his reconstruction shows what Soyinka endured for 22 months while he was incarcerated. “I want to show people what it looks like when your freedom is taken away and your humanity is being questioned and held to ransom. I also want people to ask themselves what their stand is in the face of tyranny, oppression, tribalism, nepotism, injustice, corruption and other vices that holds us back in Nigeria.”

Speaking on the dummies that were hung around the exhibition, the curator said they represent vices that cripple the society, adding that the vices need to be done away with for the society to thrive. “The audio you hear is an exclusive interview where he spoke on his prison experience, assassination attempts on his life, more on what led to writing ‘The Man Died’ and so on. It offers profound insight into his thoughts, feelings and motivations during that period. Also, the illustration artworks you can see here is part of the experience of this exhibition, it simply depicts different stages from Prof’s time in prison,” he concluded.