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Ebiren Oliuwa Prosi Prosi marks a pivotal chapter in Tiffany-Annabelle’s artistic journey, celebrating womanhood as a space of joy, growth and radical optimism.
At the heart of this new body of work is a deeper exploration of the artist’s Itsekiri heritage, expressed through a vivid selection of flora unique to her Niger Delta origins.
The women she paints, depicted nude or embraced in intimate gestures, are enveloped in lush arrangements of hibiscus, African orchids and frangipani, flowers that abound in the Niger Delta and which transcend their botanical presence to become metaphors for identity and personal renewal.
Each bloom carries layered significance. The hibiscus, bold and vibrant, speaks to resilience and the beauty of transformation. The African orchid, rare and poised, embodies the strength and grace of women navigating their evolving selves while frangipani, fragrant and delicate, reflect the depth of culture and the quiet power of rebirth which collectively form a symbolic ecosystem that nourishes the spirit and honours the land.
Beyond aesthetic contemplation, this presentation also offers an urgent ecological reflection. The artist’s growing concern for environmental degradation in the Niger Delta parallels her desire to protect and preserve the region’s biodiversity. Her artistic choices echo this commitment: the flowers flourish on canvas as they are threatened in reality, making each painting both an act of beauty and resistance.
In line with this ethos, Tiffany-Annabelle turns to brown paper as a deliberate material choice as its unbleached and organic texture align with sustainable practices while reinforcing the exhibition’s themes of natural abundance and cultural continuity, with the medium becoming part of the message as a reminder of the quiet ways humans can live in harmony with nature.
The exhibition, which holds from April 25 to May 17 at the AMG Projects in Lekki, Lagos targets the preservation of environment and culture.
With ‘Ebire Oliuwa Prosi Prosi’ which translates ‘women are still flourishing’ in Itshekiri; Tiffany Annabelle pays homage to her ancestors while celebrating a language in danger of becoming extinct as well as seeking to serve remindet that culture is not a fixed inheritance but an evolving living force that must be preserved and protected because of its critical importance to the survival of future generations.
