Orí Inú takes from the Yoruba Metaphysical conception ‘Orí’ which translates to the
head and refers to one’s spiritual destiny. Followers of the Yoruba Spiritual tradition ‘Ifa’
believe all humans pick their spiritual destiny(‘Orí’) before entering the world. Orí is
one’s personal ‘god’ which follows us through the ups and downs of life, and by working
on ourselves both spiritually and physically we can heal ourselves and obtain alignment
with our destiny.

Using the calabash as a metaphor, Orí Inú depicts Aisha’s attempts to mend the break
between her mind and spirit. There are no markers of the natural world, to represent the
inner consciousness. Orí Inú attempts to show that reconnecting with one’s inner spirit
is a continuous endeavour and is a condition of the human experience.

The project is also an inquiry into the history of photography and its paradoxical
attachment to truth and time. It takes from 19th Spiritualist Photography, Surrealism,
and trick photography, by using camera optical illusions and tricks, Orí Inú questions the
camera’s historic association as a vessel of truth, as well as imagining holistic
conception of being, which challenges colonial understandings of the black body.

Orí Inú explores the photograph as a haptic object, stimulated by the social relationship
that manifests between the individual and the keepsake, like the locket, and the cameo.
Stimulated by this history, a series of photographic bronze comb sculptures (Iyarun)
work in conversation with the photographic prints. The comb is used as another
metaphor, this visual choice is informed by its relationship with African diasporan
histories, where it surpasses functionality to become a cultural symbol of empowerment,
ritual and self-care.