Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
50 × 60cm
Acrylic on Canvas
Monday 20/04/2026
This painting is about Anansi The Spider who loved to eat with friends. He never said no to food, and in fact always complemented his friends cooking, in hopes that he’d be invited to eat with them. One day while walking down the road to get to the river, he smelt some tasty coming from The Monkey’s home. Of course, he popped in to meet his friend who was making dodo. Monkey invited him to eat with them, but knowing he’d have to assist in the kitchen as the food was not completely ready yet, he said he was very busy but would love to eat with The Monkey. Just then, Anansi had an idea. He suggested spinning web to tie to The Monkey and that when the food was ready, Monkey would simply tug of the web. So off he went after spinning the web. Net he went by The Snake’s home. Now Snake was preparing yummy Ghanaian spaghetti. He had also just gotten started. The Spider filled to the brim with hunger accepted the invitation here too, spinning a web to attach to snake. He did the same when he got to The Warthogs, then Rabbit and 4 other friends homes! As he approached the river, Anansi celebrated as to how much food was coming his way. When he approached the river, Monkey tugged on the web which pulled at his 5th leg. Then tugged Warthog, then Rabbit; then all 8 friends, in fast succession within 1 second! And this is how the spider gained his long legs.
Why The Spider Has Long Legs (Study II)
50 × 60cm
Acrylic on Canvas
Monday 20/04/2026
ON THE STYLE
This is Ghanaian folkloric realism in its daylight register — expansive, luminous, painted from cultural memory rather than observation. The red laterite earth, the round thatched huts, the specific green of tropical trees: this is a world known from the inside. Anansi dominates the foreground, enormous and central, yet the painting's true intelligence is in its details. His large expressive eyes are a performance — a mask of innocence worn for the other animals. His eight true eyes sit quietly on his body, watching everything while appearing to watch nothing. The trickster's anatomy is itself a deception. The web threads extend in every direction — to Monkey in the tree, to Snake descending from the right, to Warthog, to Rabbit — each creature unaware of the others, each believing themselves the spider's only guest.
The composition enacts the story: a world of abundance, appetite, and the invisible architecture of greed. Where Study I was a closed room and a terrible secret, Study II is an open world and a beautiful scheme. Together they establish the moral range of African folkloric realism — a tradition this series is bringing into being.
Why The Spider Has Long Legs (Study II)
50 × 60cm
Acrylic on Canvas
Monday 20/04/2026
50 × 60cm
Acrylic on Canvas
Monday 20/04/2026
This painting is about Anansi The Spider who loved to eat with friends. He never said no to food, and in fact always complemented his friends cooking, in hopes that he’d be invited to eat with them. One day while walking down the road to get to the river, he smelt some tasty coming from The Monkey’s home. Of course, he popped in to meet his friend who was making dodo. Monkey invited him to eat with them, but knowing he’d have to assist in the kitchen as the food was not completely ready yet, he said he was very busy but would love to eat with The Monkey. Just then, Anansi had an idea. He suggested spinning web to tie to The Monkey and that when the food was ready, Monkey would simply tug of the web. So off he went after spinning the web. Net he went by The Snake’s home. Now Snake was preparing yummy Ghanaian spaghetti. He had also just gotten started. The Spider filled to the brim with hunger accepted the invitation here too, spinning a web to attach to snake. He did the same when he got to The Warthogs, then Rabbit and 4 other friends homes! As he approached the river, Anansi celebrated as to how much food was coming his way. When he approached the river, Monkey tugged on the web which pulled at his 5th leg. Then tugged Warthog, then Rabbit; then all 8 friends, in fast succession within 1 second! And this is how the spider gained his long legs.
Why The Spider Has Long Legs (Study II)
50 × 60cm
Acrylic on Canvas
Monday 20/04/2026
ON THE STYLE
This is Ghanaian folkloric realism in its daylight register — expansive, luminous, painted from cultural memory rather than observation. The red laterite earth, the round thatched huts, the specific green of tropical trees: this is a world known from the inside. Anansi dominates the foreground, enormous and central, yet the painting's true intelligence is in its details. His large expressive eyes are a performance — a mask of innocence worn for the other animals. His eight true eyes sit quietly on his body, watching everything while appearing to watch nothing. The trickster's anatomy is itself a deception. The web threads extend in every direction — to Monkey in the tree, to Snake descending from the right, to Warthog, to Rabbit — each creature unaware of the others, each believing themselves the spider's only guest.
The composition enacts the story: a world of abundance, appetite, and the invisible architecture of greed. Where Study I was a closed room and a terrible secret, Study II is an open world and a beautiful scheme. Together they establish the moral range of African folkloric realism — a tradition this series is bringing into being.
Why The Spider Has Long Legs (Study II)
50 × 60cm
Acrylic on Canvas
Monday 20/04/2026