My art history theme for March will be women artists. So today: by Nigerian-Italian illustrator and textile artist Diana Ejaita, “Iya Ni Wura (Mother Is Gold),” cover for The New Yorker Magazine, May 13, 2019. #BlackArt #womanartist #womenartists #illustration #illustrationart
From the artist, on the website Afriquette: “I was contacted by The New Yorker's Art Director and was asked to send some sketches in 48 hours for Mothers Day. They were looking for a representation of motherhood with elements that qualify the traditional way of seeing mother from the Nigerian perspective. I decided I wanted to create something modern, intense, yet deeply universal.
I had recently returned from a visit to Lagos and decided to portray a mother in the city of Lagos, in the middle of the crazy traffic. I wanted to show the mother who, despite the chaos, still takes time to kneel down to her child and takes time to take care of her at the same eye level. I hoped this sense of motherhood would be universal — that any mother would be able to see herself in it. To me, the illustration is very powerful because it speaks about a sense of belonging to the family and to the land.
I was happy to be asked to do the cover and to have the chance to use this major opportunity to say thank you to Lagos, the city that is has been so generous and inspiring to me. I wanted Nigerians around the world to see something from our homeland that would warm their heart.”
The artist’s website: https://www.dianaejaita.com/