Fading Marks of Belonging "Disappearing Culture" by Iyanuoluwa Babalola

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

Dimensions: 12 x 18 in

Year: 2026

Price: $350.00 USD

Status: available

This work continues my exploration of Oyo and my town "Fiditi" tribal heritage, shifting from spirituality and ancestral memory toward the theme of Disappearing Culture. Fading Marks of Belonging explores the quiet disappearance of cultural identity through the lens of Oyo and Fiditi heritage. In creating this piece, I intentionally softened the Abàjà marks, allowing them to fade gently into the skin a painterly decision reflecting how traditions gradually disappear rather than vanish at once. Hyperrealistic textures, subdued tones, and a calm side profile create a sense of stillness and reflection, while the banana earring symbolizes Fiditi, known as the “Home of Fruits” anchoring the portrait to place and cultural origin. Beyond aesthetics, the work speaks to cultural transition. With modernization, Christianity, Western medicine, and evolving beauty ideals, tribal marking has largely faded from contemporary life. What once signified identity, protection, and belonging now survives mostly in memory and in the faces of older generations. The faint marks become a metaphor for knowledge, rituals, and meanings slowly slipping from everyday consciousness. This portrait invites viewers to reflect on their own experiences of changing the traditions and stories time quietly reshapes or leaves behind. Even when visible symbols fade, the question of belonging remains, reminding us that culture is not only what we inherit, but what we choose to remember and carry forward.