Makoko Barbing Salon Painting

NB: The color and contrast of the actual painting as shown may have a slight variation due to the screen of your device This painting is from a photograph that was part of my exhibited work at the 51st Venice Biennale in Italy in 2003 and it was also exhibited at the 5th Gwangju Biennale in South Korea 2007. I was in the slum of Lagos -- well known as Makoko, at the fringes of the lagoon of the Atlantic ocean in the Lagos megalopolis for about 2 weeks. In this image, I sighted this communal barbing salon within the surrounding plank and sawmill factories that litter the place. The inscription and the sore thumb out of the salon out of the slum elements caught my attention. They are happy within their community and life goes on with acceptance of their reality as they try to make life an improved experience for themselves. So life goes on. They create your world and fun regardless. * I used a muted value of colors for soberness on my own part as these people need all the help despite their uplifting spirit.