Odum is the first work from Nzuko—a collection exploring Pan-African lineage through collective memory and ancestral form. Nzuko, meaning “gathering” in the Igbo language of Nigeria, serves as both a conceptual framework and a living archive—an exploration, reimagination, and documentation of African cultures, studied individually and collectively.
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In this work, the facial features in Odum are informed by the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania, serving as a reference for the portrait, while the hairstyle draws specifically from the Morans—young Maasai warriors known for shaving the front of the hairline and dyeing the hair with ochre, symbolizing pride, strength, and warrior spirit.
 
Additional influences include the Ndebele women of South Africa, recognized for their symbolic neck rings (Dzilla), and the Akan people of Ghana and Ivory Coast, whose matrilineal lineage and gold adornments reflect wealth, power, and cultural continuity.
 
Named after the Twi word for “oak,” Odum symbolizes strength, stability, and resilience, standing as a contemporary artifact rooted in ancestral memory.
 
This work is created on natural tree bark with live edges, intentionally preserved to evoke the feeling of an heirloom—an object shaped by time, carrying history, memory, and permanence beyond the image itself.
 
(Oil on live tree bark - walnut basswood)
 
All paintings are signed, and include a Certificate of Authenticity.