The Thunder and The Storm, Oya, Sàngó & Ògún | Exhibition Print

Edition: Limited to 10 
Size: 29.7cm x 40cm
Paper: Somerset Velvet for Epson - 255 gsm, 100% cotton rag

At the centre of this work are three powerful orisa: Ọya, the orisa of storms and transformation; Ṣàngó, the orisa of thunder; and Ògún, the orisa of iron and war. In Yorùbá storytelling, Ọya is first married to Ògún, yet ultimately drawn to his rival Ṣàngó, a love triangle said to have fuelled some of the fiercest conflicts among the orisa.

Ọya and Ṣàngó appear as elemental counterparts: he as thunder that splits the earth, she as lightning that charges the sky. Also present are two of Ṣàngó’s other wives: Ọ̀ṣun, the orisa of sweet waters and fertility, signalled by the peacock; and Obà, the orisa associated with marriage and domestic life, rendered here as the river flowing beneath Ṣàngó’s feet.

The composition draws thematic and compositional inspiration from Luca Giordano’s Perseus Turning Phineas and his Followers to Stone (The National Gallery).