“I AM MY OWN MUSE. I AM THE SUBJECT I KNOW BEST. THE SUBJECT I WANT TO KNOW BETTER” – Oroma Elewa 

Oroma Elewa is the embodiment of a true renaissance woman. I first came across her work when she called out the Victoria & Albert Museum in Kensington, London for attributing her words to iconic painter Frida Kahlo. The writer and visual performance artist stood up for herself and refused to be erased from history. With over 50,000 Instagram followers, the independent artist was able to rally her supporters to retweet the statement with the rightful credit. Since then, the V&A acknowledged this mistake and have credited Oroma Elewa for her poem. 

Since then, Elewa has released video performances such as The Appointment and The Breakfast. Both performances have been silent and focus more on movement and cultural mannerisms. She has also written and published a book of short stories called Crushed Guava Leaves which is a collection of conversations and thoughts that relate to her cultural identity as a Nigerian-American. 

More recently, she has released a performance art piece named AREA BABES & ASHAWO SUPERSTAR$ which has reached a social media following of 6,465. The curation of memes has all been written by Elewa inspired by Nollywood – Nigeria’s film industry. For many millennials and Gen-Z Africans, the memes perfectly summarise our everyday experiences. Bringing African culture to a modern platform, Elewa celebrates and finds humor in the perspectives of the different members of a traditional African household, close friends included. Elewa has stated that this is the content that we deserve. We look forward to seeing what the artist will gift us next. 

Check out the GUAP Arts & Culture section, to discover new art, film, and creatives.