Unspoken bond by Oluwafemi Akanmu
Explore Mondoir Studio
Medium: Charcoal and acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 91.4 x 101.6 cm
Year: 2026
Price: $2800.00 USD
Status: available
Without words, their closeness speaks volumes. This artwork is about silent understanding the kind only shared between those who have endured, grown, and healed together.
Why collect this work?
Two closely overlapped figures remain visually distinct through opposing gazes, patterned clothing and sharply separated colours, making intimacy appear compatible with privacy rather than complete mutual disclosure.
- Akanmu states that his practice centres Black dignity, communal life and hope. Here, that concern is focused through poised bearing and self-possession rather than an illustrative narrative.
- In the photograph, the figures fill almost the entire field, while their hair joins into a broad dark silhouette against red. One looks sideways and the other outward; their raised hands echo each other without becoming symmetrical.
- The catalogue identifies charcoal and acrylic on canvas. That combination may enable the deep tonal modelling of faces and hands to coexist with opaque colour fields and linear garment patterns.
- Dated 2026 and titled Unspoken bond in the catalogue, this painting gives portraiture a relational task: kinship is conveyed through proximity and repetition, while divergent gazes preserve each figure’s autonomy.
About the Artist
Oluwafemi Akanmu
Oluwafemi Akanmu is an artist on Mondoir Studio. Artistic discipline: painting. Based in Ibadan, NG.
Nationality: Nigerian
Through my art, I intentionally highlight the richness of African culture and its enduring beauty, with particular emphasis on the dignity and...
