Twins Seven Seven

Prince Twins Seven Seven (real name Prince Taiwo Olaniyi Oyewale-Toyeje Oyelale Osuntoki ; born May 3, 1944 in Ogidi , Nigeria ; † June 16, 2011 in Ibadan , Nigeria) was a Nigerian painter , musician , writer and actor .

biography

His career began in the 1960s when he attended art classes from Ulli Beier and his wife, Georgina Beier, in Oshogbo , a Yoruba town in southwestern Nigeria. His work is shaped by the religion of the Yoruba . Today he is one of the most important representatives of the Oshogbo School. In 1979 he was represented in the exhibition Modern Art from Africa , which was shown during the West Berlin Horizon Festival , the first of a series of four Horizons - Festival of World Cultures . He can look back on exhibitions in well-known museums and galleries around the world. These include, for example, the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris or the Museum of Modern Art in New York .

His name Twins Seven Seven is said to be derived from the fact that he was the only surviving son of seven pairs of twins his mother gave birth to. He himself is said to have been seriously ill at times in his early childhood.

In 2005, Twins Seven Seven was named Artist of Peace by UNESCO .

Discographic notes

• Twins Seven-Seven Black Ghosts International Oshun (Editions Makossa, 1974, with Imran Francis, Laisi Akindele, Leopoldo Fleming , Muraina Oyelami, Remi Adewunmi, The Kabaka , Richard Davis, Tunde Muyeeb)
• Slang in Trance (Caravan of Dreams, 1986)
• Ronald Shannon Jackson & Twins Seven Seven Live at the Caravan of Dreams (Caravan of Dreams, 1986)
• Nigerian Beat (Seven Seas 1991)

literature

• Sabine Hollburg, Gereon Sievernich : Modern Art from Africa, Exhibition Catalog Berlin: 1979

Web links

• UNESCO Artist of Peace award
• Image archive from the 1970s and 1980s at SIRIS
• Obituary and memories by Heinz Jocker
• Twins Seven Seven at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ New York Times, July 3, 2011 Prince Twins Seven-Seven, Nigerian Artist, Dies at 67