The Story

Ìrònú is a quiet storm. A portrait of a boy who has lived many lives behind his eyes — not in years, but in thoughts. His hands cradle his face not out of boredom, but out of the weight of contemplation.

Set against bold blocks of red, yellow, and pastel blue, the stillness of his figure contrasts the noise of his emotional landscape. These colors mirror the life in Mile 2 and Egbeda — full of energy, pressure, and uncertainty — where stillness was the only place to process emotion without punishment.

This work is a meditation on the unspoken survival mechanisms of young boys raised without emotional tools. It is about thought as refuge. About the sacredness of pausing when life doesn’t allow room to cry.

Macanjy channels his personal experience growing up as a reflective child in a society that mistook his silence for shyness — when in truth, he was watching everything, absorbing everything.

Ìrònú is not just a painting. It is a Yoruba prayer painted with charcoal — a moment suspended between memory and becoming.

Collections: SILENT NARRATIVE: ehoes of the unseen

Subject Matter: Self-reflection, Black Boyhood, Silence, Emotional Depth, Cultural Memory, Nigerian Street Identity

Current Location: Avant Garde Gallery Toronto

Credits

Anjola Adeniji