Description
The First Time I Prayed captures the precise moment when faith isn’t taught — it’s felt. The child’s charcoal-drawn face gazes skyward with wonder and ache meeting in the eyes. He’s not crying. He’s not speaking. He’s reaching. The ochre-orange background radiates warmth like sunlight in a Lagos morning or the aura of spiritual protection passed down from ancestors. The textured lines that surround his shoulders evoke presence — like ancestors whispering behind him. The figure wears only suggestion of cloth — an echo of Yoruba garments suggesting this child is not nameless. He’s ours. He’s us. Born from Macanjy’s early years growing up in Mile 2 and Egbeda this piece holds space for that first sacred connection: when a boy who had no words for God still knew where to look. Part of Silent Narrative: Echoes of the Unseen this piece is not just a portrait — it’s a spiritual relic.
