"There are several stories by African artists who have recounted dreams in which deities appeared to them bestowing creative ideas through divine visitation. My painting, 'Dreaming', examines this phenomenon. I am also curious about Caucasian imagery in traditional African art and how visual ideas are transmitted both by physical and metaphysical channels of thought. My painting therefore is an attempt to explain the sacred and its various ways of impartation through the work of the visual artist."- Wole Lagunju, 2018.
This painting relates to the artist's move to the US in 2006, around which time images of Caucasian people started appearing in his dreams. It fuses many of his interests: Dreams – are they real? Do Gelede masks have metaphysical powers? Do they impact his life in a Caucasian society? They are known to celebrate woman’s powers and creativity, has that impacted Western fashion?
The artist wanted to be a fashion designer when he was young, but when that didn’t work out he decided to turn to painting fashion. This work is directly influenced by an image from a fashion magazine with Asian fabric. He infused it with dreamy layers of Caucasian women, an African Gelede mask, and a mystical creature in the forefront that could be a child or a hybrid deity. Who is colonizing who? -Technically, Wole was trained as a graphic designer and mentioned the technique of collaging different source images in the context of this work.
