“Hunger in the Land of Plenty”

In most of my recent paintings, I take a critical view of social, political and cultural issues. In this painting, as an Artist with my root from Africa, I did this painting with a passion for my continent that is plagued with famine and wars.
“Hunger in the land of Plenty” is saying something about the paradoxical situation of Africa- a continent blessed with many natural resources but still poor.
In the foreground, I put an African mother breastfeeding her baby while there are two empty bowls in front of her with nothing to feed herself. Surrounded with drought afflicted land, dead vegetation and livestock. In the middle ground is a woman tilling the dry ground with her crude tool, a hoe
The background shows fertile part of Africa that produces enough food to feed the people of the land but the products are exported to other parts of the world. At the top left corner of the painting, I put a cargo ship that takes African products to other parts of the world. African’s natural resources and agricultural products are being exported leaving Africa in poverty.

“Portrait of an Artist”

Influenced by the painting of an old Italian Artist – Giuseppe Arcimboldo (An Artist that painted fruits and vegetables to creative people’s portraits), O. Yemi made this painting as a tribute to one of his art teachers, Jim Meaders. As in many of his recent painting, O. Yemi likes to use his painting to make a statement. He is using this painting to tell the viewer the occupation of his subject. He carefully assembled brushes, Paint tube and a pencil that overlapped together to make various anatomical shapes of a human. Brushes for the hairy parts of the face, a pencil for the nose and a paint tube for the mouth of the portrait.

“Arab Revolution”

This painting was inspired by the Arab spring started in late 2010. I empathise with people that live under the tyrannical leaders like Ex-President of Tunisia, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali andLate Muamaar Gadaffi. Reading about the tragic death of a Tunisian man, Mohammed Bouazizi that set himself on fire; his response to daily humiliation by the Tunisian authorities, which encapsulates the true spirit of the Arab revolts. Suffering and killing of people that were demonstrating for their freedom moved me to do this painting in honour of those that were killed.
The main image in the painting is to represent the portrait of an Arab tyrannical Leader. Start from the head scarf; the red patterns of the scarf are the blood’s drops of those killed in the revolution.The face of the portrait is fist of victory in the face of the tyrannical Arab Leader. The time on the wrist watch on the painting is to indicate that time is running out for all the tyrannical leaders of the world. Many of the revolutions were often involve mainly men especially in the Arab world. During the Arab Revolution, women stood beside their men to fight for their freedom. Just as in the famous French Revolution’s painting by Eugène Delacroix – 1830 – Liberty Leading the People, The woman in middle of the painting leading the Arab Revolution with hand raised high clenching a Blackberry mobile phone. The most powerful weapons for this Arab revolution were mobile phones which hence called the Blackberry revolution. Many images of atrocities committed by these tyrannical leaders and their governments were recorded and passed around through msn, twitter and Facebook by eye witness from mobile phones.
At the background of the painting are the explosions on both sides of the painting which are painted the shape of raised clenched fist and on the left bottom corner of the painting lies the former tyrannical Libya leader- Muamar Gadaffi and two other bodies of his men in front of the tunnels where they were captured before they were killed.
The ultimate goal of Arab revolution is PEACE and JUSTICE. People that had enough of violence and abuse from their tyrannical leaders rose up in PEACEFUL Demonstration to call for change. It is a shame that the PEACE that Arab people yearned for still eluded them with wars still going on in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen.

“Horse Rider”

Young lady riding horse on the country side on a sunny day

“Fishers of Men”

O. Yemi wants this painting to be Biblical subject using modern day images. While he was planning this, the horror on Mediteariean Sea unfolded. Seeing Italian coast guards fishing out African immigrants – the victims of human trafficking – from the sea and an iconic image of Syrian drowned baby being carried by Turkish police from coast resort of Bodrum (one of the Syrian drowned as they attempted to reach Greek island of Kos) made O. Yemi to titled this painting – “The Fishers of Men”
“The Fishers of Men” was the phrase our Lord Jesus used to call His disciples to save human soul from the predator – the Satan. In this painting, President Bashar Al-Assad, and Islamic State terrorist are the sharks, the predators the Syrians were running away from, while Africans were running from poverty and longing for a better life in Europe which made them victims of the human trafficking. Fishers of men are not only coast guards that rescued the refuges from drowning; Fishers of men includes the good people of Europe that welcome the refugees with open hands. Fishers of men are those that met the refugees with boxes of supplies and offering candy and cuddly toys for the refugees’ children.

“African't”

African’t: (Africans can’t say `no’ to Exploitation)
Africa is the second largest continent and the richest in the world in natural resources. Despite her riches, her people are the most abused and misused people in the world. They were the subject of slavery and after the abolition of slave trade, Europeans continued to enslave Africans. They colonised most of the continent, oppressing and killing Africans while looting their natural wealth. African nations are yet to be completely free; their economy and government are being controlled by their former colonial masters. In recent years, China joined the United States and the Europeans in further exploitation of Africans. Chinese are now taking over African businesses and markets; flooding African markets with their cheap products making it difficult for locally produced African products to compete with cheap Chinese imports. Many corrupt African leaders aid wanton exploitation of African mineral resources for selfish personal gains, receiving also kickbacks to award highly over-priced infrastructure development project contracts to Chinese and European companies. Chinese companies often bring in all categories of workers from China to work on African construction projects while well qualified Africans including overseas trained professionals remain unemployed; it is literally taking food out of the mouth of Africans. Why can’t African say `no’ to exploitation?
The dark cloud in the background on the right side of this painting is to show the terrible situation of African nations; the ray of light breaking through the dark cloud and new plant shoots piercing through the cracks of dry ground are to depict the hope and aspiration of the artist - O Yemi Tubi for African nations - better and richer future. In the centre of the painting, O Yemi painted a starving African child with priceless jewellery on her neck and variety of foods served on luxurious golden bowls and plates in front of her. This also is to depict the paradoxical poverty and the riches of the continent of Africa. Engulfing the luxurious varieties of food are rats in coats of national flags of USA, Britain, France and China. This is to say that the relationship of these nations with African nations is contributing to their poverty. Rat as imagery of these nations is not intended to offend but O. Yemi couldn’t find any complementary image that could be used without losing the message he intended to convey. This painting is also an Indictment of some corrupt African leaders
The dawn of new day; better and bright day for Africans will come the sooner the Africans can say `no’ to EXPLOITATIONS and African leaders put national interest above self-interest.

“Domestic Abuse”

Life is roses and thorns; sometimes it emanates sweet aroma of pleasantness and sometimes it pricks and causes pains. O. Yemi chooses to do series of on ‘Roses and Thorns’, in which the main objects of the paintings are roses and stems woven into human figures.
Rose is one of the gifts often used as a romantic gesture of love and it naturally grows from the stems of thorns. In the early stages of relationship, couples often enjoy the aroma of roses and lovingly blind to the flaws and thorns of each other. As challenges arise the couple starts to focus on each others’ flaws and start to feel the prick of their thorns
While preparing to work on this painting, the image of Christ fell under weight of the cross in “Stations of the cross” in some of the old master paintings came to mind. O. Yemi was influenced to paint the image of the main object of this painting in a crawling posture. He used Rose stems woven in the shape of a woman breast feeding while also overwhelmed with other domestic tasks. He used the sticks of the push broom and mop as cross. In the middle ground is the husband sitting aloof and ironically reading the Daily Harmony newspaper. In the background is the picture of the couple’s happy days when they were enjoying the aroma of their love disregarding the thorns of life; the picture on the Daily Harmony newspaper depicts the Thorns period where they argue and fight.
Couples should not focus on their partners’ thorns but appreciate the fragrance of love emanating from them.
This painting was done with oil on canvas

“Simone Biles: The Golden Rose”

“The Robbery Revival (Matthew 21:13)”

“It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’[a] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’[b]” Matt. 21:13
O. Yemi Tubi had spoken about African colonial masters robbing African people through their evil practices. This painting is about African religious leaders holding up and robbing African people using the Holy Bible as their weapons of armed robbery. Hence the painting is titled "The Robbery Revival.”
Africans are very religious and they are devoted to God Almighty. They have strong belief that God is the solution to every problem and this strong belief makes them a prey to false religious leaders, both men and women. These "Archbishop U. K. Sterling and Rev. (Mrs) Easy Money are using the Bible to rob my fellow Africans of their God-given resources. Africans longing to be free from poverty, will do anything and this leads some of them to the den of ferocious blood-sucking prosperity preachers. Our Lord Jesus Christ while physically on earth didn't collect money from His followers. He fed them freely and healed them freely. Many missionaries left Europe and America to win souls for God around the world. David Livingstone’s cry was "Lord, give me the souls of Africans" He served God and African people and died in Africa. The modern day prosperity preachers are not after the souls of Africans; they are after the wealth of Africans. They are not soul winners but cash winners.
At the background of the painting is a banner which is one of the mediums that prosperity preachers use to advertise their business. In it the artist uses the currencies of some nations to name these prosperity preachers. In the middle ground are their preys and in the foreground is one of the prosperity preachers and the Tithe Box. The artist puts a bandit’s mask on the face of the property preacher for two reasons. First to show him as a robber that he is really is and second, to show that he puts on the mask of “The man of God” to hide who he is really what the Holy Bible says he is - “A wolf in the sheep cloth”

The artist of this painting is a Christian. The aim of the artist is to admonish people not to follow fake men and women of God. They should read the Bible to know the truth and the truth will set them free.

“The Ray of Georgia: Unchained My Hands”

This is another work in Roses and thorns painting series by O. Yemi and was influenced by the movie of Ray Charles’ life.
Born poor and raised by his mother in O. Yemi’s adopted state of Georgia in USA. Ray Charles grew up at a time when people of his skin colour were considered less human and were denied equal opportunities with the white people. To imply that Ray Charles used his music to echo the cry of African-Americans during the civil rights movement, O. Yemi changed the wording of his songs - “Unchanged my heart” for the title of this painting to “The Ray of Georgia: Unchanged my Hands.”

The movie showed many flashbacks of Ray Charles childhood years. The memory of the drowning of his little brother George and his own battles with drugs addiction was the main focus of this painting. On the left side of the painting is Ray Charles playing piano in a concert hall with stems of thorns wrapped around his upper body. Bounded by the stems of thorns is to depict Ray Charles bondage to drugs addiction and “Unchained my hands” here is his own personal cry and struggles to break free from drugs addiction as shown in drugs rehabilitation clinic in the movie. In the middle ground is the curtains of the concert hall drew back to show the flashback of his brother’s drowning on the right side of the painting. The end of the piano turns to laundry tub in which his brother drowned.
Message of the painting is this; since thorns couldn’t prevent the blooming of the roses, poverty or disabilities cannot be hindrances to anyone success.