1 of 1
No. 02
The fearless women of Ohafia, drawn in courage, marked in resilience, and held as enduring legacy. Printed once on framed canvas, signed and certified by the artist.
Edition
1 of 1, retired after sale
Size
48 x 60 in, framed canvas
Year
2026
Series
Outside the catalogue
Once acquired, this work is retired from sale forever.
Behind the work
The fearless women of Ohafia, drawn from oral memory and held in figure.
Each work starts as the artist’s original. Lines are drawn deliberately, the figure built mark by mark over the course of weeks. Symbols emerge as the work progresses, never planned in advance, each mark answering the one before it.
Each mark answering the one before it.
From the studio
When a single canvas print is made from that original and signed, the work is retired from sale. No second canvas of this piece will ever be printed. The original returns to the studio archive, held quietly by the artist.
Artist’s statement
Inspired by the legendary Dike Nwaanyị of Ohafia, this work honors the fearless women remembered in Ohafia history for their courage, resilience, and warrior spirit. These women stood as symbols of strength within a culture deeply rooted in bravery and honor, embodying both physical power and unshakable determination.
The piece reflects the enduring legacy of the female warriors of Ohafia, whose stories continue to live through oral tradition, dance, and cultural memory. They represent not only victory in battle, but the strength of womanhood, ancestral pride, and the spirit of a people whose identity has long been shaped by courage.
The eyes, whether one eye or three, represent knowledge and experience drawn from both the physical state and experiences beyond the body.
When Igbo people say “Ahụla m ọtụtụ ihe na ndụ a,” they are not speaking of what they have merely seen with their eyes, but of what they have lived through, understood, and perceived as spirit beings existing in a physical body. These experiences cultivate the ability to understand what is invisible to others.
The spiral on the body draws from forms found in Uli and in nature itself: the shell of the snail, the movement of snakes, and the unfolding patterns of life. The spiral reflects cycles of life, death, continuity, regeneration, reincarnation, and rebirth. Nothing truly ends; everything transforms.
Our ancestors recognized these patterns everywhere, in the structure of the umbilical cord, the first sprouts emerging from the soil, the rings inside a cut tree, the lines of our palms, and the center of our hair, all of which carry spiral forms. Even the Milky Way is spiral in nature, just as the Earth itself spins in continuous motion.
The hut symbolizes our origin, the place we come from. It represents the essence of home, a presence we carry within us even in foreign lands. It explains why our accents differ, why our beliefs and way of life stand apart, a reflection of where our roots first touched the earth.
The markings beneath the knees symbolize emergence and becoming, like a seed nourished by water finally breaking through the soil toward light and growth.
What you receive
Ụbọchị Igbo · Today is
Ancestral remembrance, the week's close.
Ìlú ụ́bọ́chị̀ · Proverb of the day
Ùgò chárá áchá ádị́ghị́ èchú échú.
A mature eagle feather will always remain pure.