By Chukwuma Ajakah

The black witness is an artwork captured by Olamide Adegboye with Africa as his focal point; describing the challenges facing the girl child and her road to success. The owner of the visuals; a 2026 Muse Photography Platinum award winner; used visuals and captured imagery to illustrate his work.

Apart from this, the artist applied the elements of art, line, colour, shape and principles of design to ensure there is balance, contrast, rhythm and harmony in the work.

Divided into six chapters; each chapter contains a captured visual; depicting what a girl child goes through in early life and the road to success and emancipation.

In the six chapters of Black Witness; images used are not just portraits; they are a material language of value and the series is an investigative journey into the Black interior life; presented as protection.

The artistic work began with investigation of the systematic silencing of the girl child in a village setting.

The visuals of paint on community trees behind the child illustrate things which the society refuses to speak about. The producer went further to hide the girl child with another person’s hand; an indication that in many African traditions; silence is often mistaken for respect and endurance for strength but in reality; silence is usually forced.

He needed this illustration to show how serious the maltreatment of the girl child is; without exploiting the situation.

The producer also uses paintings on the girl’s skin to show that a second skin is beautiful enough to distract; but sharp enough to accuse.

The use of a mask by the author is to remind one that it is a tool for survival and authority in an African cultural setting while the cowries at the throat represent a material language of value and protection that goes with it and to also show the mystery of ancestors acting as a guide not just a costume.

The pupil-less eyes captured by the producer represent spiritual sight. He made the eyes blank because he wanted the viewers to realise that what is done in secret still has witnesses beyond the human; even when people pretend they did not see it.

The producer in trying to make the world know more about the elements of lineage and survival in a true African setting; added tribal marks, lashes and bright flowers which suggest innocence; and that our softness can carry the truth at the same time.

In analysing this work; the Feldman Method; that moves from objective observation to subjective interpretation and evaluation will be applied.

The goal is to analyze, interpret, and judge the artwork’s success based on visual evidence; rather than just personal taste.

A critical look at the work shows that the artist being of the Yoruba ethnic group; used his familiar background for the work.

Rather than exploiting other African cultural settings; he limited himself to his ethnic group which raises some questions about his objectivity and wide acceptance of the work.

Although his use of cowries and trees to buttress his point is commendable; because it gives the work an original African concept; but the use of tribal marks left some unanswered questions; since not all African societies are associated with tribal marks.

What this means is that the appreciation of the work seems to be limited to a particular tribe. However; not minding this limitation; his objectivity of the work is not in doubt; because his captured visuals and visuals of the body art really brought out the realities of problems facing the girl child especially in an African community.

One important thing about the work is that it succeeded in playing out emotions and pity for the girl child and at the end of the work; the producer succeeded in showing how the girl child survived her sufferings.

The work which was well arranged with good visuals and captured imagery and could be described as a brilliant art work; succeeded in sending its message across to its audience; though there is still room for improvement.

The work is a masterpiece; little wonder it won the Muse Platinum in Fine Art Photography Conceptual with the organizers praising the producer for producing a masterpiece of a work.