African Beauty Unfrozen
Ojo Victoria Ilemobayo
Ojo Victoria Ilemobayo is a Nigerian Literary Enthusiast whose works have appeared in Christian Century, Christian Courier, Ake Review, Typehouse, Thema, Sunlight Press, Eboquills, Non-Binary Review, A Coup of Owl, Firebrand, Mad Swirl, Flash frog, Eco Punk Lit and other online literary platforms. \She is a poet, photographer, video editor, a graphic designer and she babysits. She is into poetry, non-fiction, and visual arts. The themes of her works cut across beauty, love, family ties, Christian living, nature, and a host of other things. The goal of her writing is to express herself creatively, create magic, spread love, heal, and inspire people. She won the April-June Wakaso Poetry Prize 2024, WGT3 2023, the MUSPA Prize 2022, Lagos Hilltop Poetry Prize 2021. She volunteers with the Lucky Jefferson and is a member of the Hilltop Creative Art Foundation(Lagos). She enjoys reading, dancing, strolling, discussing poetry, traveling, and meeting new people. She tweets @ilemobayo-ojo
Artist Statement:
“African Beauty Unfrozen” is a digital work of art that celebrates the resilience and warmth spirit of the Africans. Despite the ugly circumstances going on, African (Nigeria) still remains unbroken and undefeated.
This art is also an inspiration of Disney’s “Frozen” Character (Elsa).
Why this Knocked us Out:
Looking into this piece, we feel ourselves trapped alongside the subject, almost iced in. We don't know much about visual art, but we love the way the piece makes texture such an important part of the experience. There is a really engaging blend of shades, scratches, shininess, and roughness. Maybe Martheaus is specifically drawn to the piece because of the hair--how it reminds him of his Black mother. It's a really wonderful exercise in obscurity; we want to see this girl, but the haze traps us in a kind of isolation from her. We would love to share this piece with our audience of poets and artists because we believe it will impact them as it did us.