When Alpharetta-based artist Olu Amoda was a child growing up in a small town in the Delta state of Nigeria, he remembers the rhythmic sound of metal being shaped by his goldsmith father’s anvil. He also recalls taking pieces of charcoal and dashing around buildings to draw haphazard lines on the walls while his mother, a street chef, served her homemade jollof rice to passersby. His creative impulse was present young.
But perhaps more influential on his artistic expression was the town pastor who would pray over objects like cars and houses. The pastor would speak to the objects, then might pour gin or whiskey over parts for a ritual blessing. The material became spiritual.
