Twins Seven-Seven: The Glocal Framing of an International Artist in Memorial Pages

Abstract

On 16 June 2011, the foremost Nigerian visual artist, Taiwo Osuntoki, popularly referred to as Twins Seven-Seven, passed away. His  passing, as is common with personalities of that nature, elicited some interesting memorials across the world. Family members, close  friends, admirers, art collectors and colleagues in the art community in Nigeria and across the globe flooded the art space with glowing  tributes, lauding an iconic figure whose works were known to reflect the embodiment of Yoruba folklore, mythology, spiritual, ghostly  and invisible worlds. This article draws on a descriptive analysis of memorials in selected local and international print media and  academic outlets (journals). The intention is primarily to identify and examine some of the memorials and then engage them in ways that  help to understand how Twins Seven-Seven’s image was conceived in global as well as local contexts. Given his complex and multipersonality, we ask how memorials shape the meanings that could be associated with Twins Seven-Seven’s life generally. Lastly, the  paper is a fitting tribute to one of Africa’s greatest postcolonial artists, whose passing now marks more than a decade.