By Emmanuel Daraloye 

It was Ben Enwonwu the famous Nigerian visual artist who once said that “art is not a luxury; it is a necessity of life. It is a means of preserving the identity of a people.” This sentiment has strongly resonated across the crop of contemporary visual artists springing out of Nigeria in the last decade such as Divine George Enogela, aka King Divine. 

One of his paintings, such as ‘Drummer Boy’, spotlights the beauty of Yoruba culture. The portrait is composed of a young talking drummer clad in indigenous attire. The Yoruba talking drum, aka dùndún is a primordial icon in Yoruba-speaking parts of Nigeria. It has several types, including the GanGan, which is its most popular across the entire ensemble. The Yorubas invented this drum to communicate like humans, mimicking Yoruba tonal patterns, and used largely for ceremonial purposes, music and storytelling. Today, it’s not as commonly used across Nigerian music, as it was in pre-colonial/early Independent Nigeria. 

In ‘Drummer Boy’, King Divine weaves subtle commentary, while accurately preserving cultural identity. First, he depicts the drummer boy in harsh, almost-burnt skin tones, reminiscing on the nature of the talking drummer as a black man before anything else. This is important, especially, in today’s reality where a lot of diaspora Africans struggle with their identity and ‘right’ to perform local music/claim indigenous status. To be a talking drummer means to celebrate the ‘blackness’, well exaggerated within King Divine’s work to celebrate the depth of creativity associated with the Yoruba race/Black people. 

Apart from the racial undertone to the painting, he accurately adorns the drummer in cultural regalia — a matching Fila (headgear) and Agbada (two-piece menswear; a tunic with an overall). His choice of colour composition also strikes one with a feeling of nostalgia, sacredness, and emotional intensity. Combining milky off white with burnt brown, reds, and nature green, he creates a vivid portrait that celebrates memory, identity, and heritage.

King Divine’s signature with nature also shines within his portfolio. Across most of his work, especially his painting titled, ‘Evergreen’. The painting is a landscape picture of a lush vast field, with big bold trees hovering in the foreground and perspective. It’s not just the composition of the painting that attracts the eye; the rich saturation of green and the seamless blend of the fading sky blue are strong visual markers in this painting. Overall, King Divine knows how to emphasize, when to flatter, and why certain things need remembrance, whenever he picks up his paintbrushes. That, perhaps, is his north star, and, most importantly, his biggest strengths. 

King Divine Art is an artist and painter based in Lagos, Nigeria. He began his professional practice in 2015.