Emmanuel Irokanulo, Exodus, (Oil on Canvas, 1205x120cm), 2010.
Exodus by Irokanulo depicts the sensation of heightened consciousness and spiritual enlightenment brought about by human migration and consequence of arm struggle all over the world today and the citizens are paying dearly over these continuous struggles. This paintings depict groups of people moving through hazy and strange-looking landscapes while appearing to be nameless and misplaced. As the trip goes on, the landscape’s hue seems to fluctuate. The artworks imply that the collective experience of migration and immigration is complicated. The painting’s namesake, Exodus, is a biblical allusion, reflecting a timeless story that has continued to play out throughout the ages.
Emmanuel Irokanulo, Conference, (Oil on Canvas, 135x135cm), 2010.
In the feature of the painting, images were conceptualized in form of shadows. The three figures are overlapped in a compositional design in various colours. The crosshatched figures were positioned horizontally rather than vertically to represent shadows. The figures were facing one another and holding hands to depict the concept of conference.
Although the background seen above the people is not well defined, it gives the impression that the viewer is in a tropical vegetation landscape. The images come alive through the strokes from the palette of the artist, using broad brushstrokes. Rapid and irregular lines conceptualize the frame of the picture, as the images evoke subjective reality and symbols of struggle in society. Irokanulo’s style is abstract expressionism giving space for conceptual discourse in painting.
Emmanuel Irokanulo, The Corridor of Power, (Oil on Canvas, 1205x120cm), 2012.
Irokanulo makes an effort to use the idea of a shadow as an expressive theme for his abstract philosophical discourse inThe Corridor of Power. He turned these abstract ideas into more concrete representations by using “shadow” as a creative discussion tool in a painting. Heavy brushstrokes create the shadows of three people on the painted surface. The predominant colours are burned sienna, yellow, orange, yellow ochre, and yellow.
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