The Brood and the Naive Child I by Iyanuoluwa Babalola
Explore Mondoir Studio
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions: 36 x 24 in
Year: 2026
Price: $800.00 USD
Status: available
The Brood and the Naive Child I is inspired by a vivid childhood memory. As a young boy, I was fascinated by a mother hen and her fluffy chicks. Out of pure curiosity and naivety, I stretched out my leg, believing I could playfully meddle with them, unaware of how fiercely a hen protects her brood. African hens instinctively guard their chicks, spreading their wings, clucking, hissing, and placing themselves between their young and any perceived threat. What seemed like innocent play to me was, to her, a moment of danger. This painting captures the moment before consequence—a fleeting encounter where childhood innocence meets maternal instinct, reminding us that curiosity often marks the beginning of life's earliest lessons.
Why collect this work?
A suspended confrontation between a child’s raised foot and a hen’s spread wings turns a courtyard incident into a study of misread intention and protective force.
- Babalola describes his practice as drawing on childhood experience and moral storytelling. His account identifies this scene with a remembered approach to a brood, but the painting keeps the child’s gesture open to interpretation.
- Child and hen face each other across bare ground. The lifted leg meets the bird’s broad, opposing wings, while five chicks cluster beneath her body, making the hen both barrier and shelter.
- The documented acrylic on canvas allows areas of flat tone to sit beside fine repeated marks. In the photograph, pale patterning connects clothing, feathers, and masonry, while the red comb fixes attention on the hen.
- The work is significant for refusing simple blame. It gives curiosity and defense equal visual weight, framing an ordinary mistake as a lesson in how harmless intent can still be perceived as danger.
About the Artist
Iyanuoluwa Babalola
Iyanuoluwa Babalola is an artist on Mondoir Studio. Artistic discipline: Painting/ Acrylic and on Canvas. Based in Lagos, NG.
Nationality: Nigerian
My art explores healing, identity, cultural memory, and moral consciousness through expressive painting and visual storytelling.
