stormy night, listening to Linkin Park- Easier to run. It went through
stages where I kind of went through a conceptual rebirth of sorts. My
friends, who have seen what I see in this story, possess a visibility
of high fidelity.
The characters here are not far removed from reality like the 'super
heroes' I grew up with. They are mostly modeled after men who found
the strength to commit to bearing a load they weren't warned was
coming. Like my parents & every other person I've been close to.
On a less personal note, the concept loses something if explained too
well (as an ex-girlfriend claimed I'm wont to & I won't deny that.). I
believe approximate understanding is the type that should run most
institutions in the world. Exact comprehension is fraught with the
dangers of loss of personal identity & the murder of creative
interpretation. Approximate understanding lends the interpreter a
chance to add & the interpreted to be added to. I first observed this
when I drew comics in high school, shared them with school mates and
listened to their feedback. Some insights stunned me into silence,
some literally baffled my imagination, some gave me a stronger
standing in my art & others just appreciated. I hope this work will do
the same for me. It's been 14 years since I seriously took up pencils
(2b were delightful to work with), bic biro (inking is not tracing,
it's defining), felt tip pen (my thanks to Nsikak, always, for
pointing out the better way to use them by letting me see his work and
adding no words to explain) and a sheet of paper (3rd world art
doesn't care if it is ruled or blank, so long as it is a sheet of
paper).
The pieces of this puzzle are numerous & started to come together on
that stormy night- There's no such thing as absolute darkness, for
light is always there. The Zeroth law of thermodynamics. There's no
such thing as presence of cold, only absence of heat. Infinity exists
between a thumb & and index finger (fractal thinking). Size matters
because bigger isn't necessarily better. Anger is necessary, but
becomes a poison when it stays too long in the system. God is the
immutable reality, should he decide to stop thinking about you, then
you never were (I don't know if it happens, but how could anyone tell
if it did?).
These things were discussed by friends & acquaintances over a span of
27 years. Bob Kane's Batman evolved over the years from a pipe smoking
bachelor to the world's greatest detective & I resonated to his
amazing concept. Akira was the manga anime that proved to me that my
mind wasn't on fast-forward or reaching for pointless things. He-man
proved to me that tales by moonlight wasn't the only program with
morals at the end of the story. Aesop fables are as much a backbone of
literary work now as they were as his currency to purchase his freedom
from slavery. From Dare Obasanjo, to Iken Emokpae, to Lanre Lawal, to
John Efekodo, to Soji Martins, to Bode Senbanjo, to Tunde Anjorin, to
Yegwa Ukpo, to Kunle Oludele, to Femi Omoluabi, to Nnamdi Nwoha, to
Tolu Ajayi, to Edith nee Nweke, to Wale Dada, to Ik Oviawe... I will
revise this later, but for now, I will rest my memory, fingers & phone
here.
I hope I don't disappoint anyone. :)
--
Sent from my mobile device
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