“Moremi: The Immigrant Child”

“Moremi” is an oil painting that captures the strength and resilience carried in the personage of the African immigrant child. The title of the painting got its inspiration from the legendary 12th-century Yoruba story of the woman, ‘Moremi’  who sacrificed her marriage, her son, and even the risk of death in order to secure the future of the people of Ile-Ife, in Nigeria.  Ernest Agoba infuses the spirit of Moremi in this child painting. He depicts an African girl carrying a reassuring smile while leaning over a menacing barrier of barbed wires. The wires symbolize the physical and metaphorical boundaries she must overcome in her pursuit of a better life. The girl’s presence is both powerful and poignant, as her innocent yet determined expression contrasts with the stains of blood on her hand. These crimson marks represent the sacrifices and hardships she has endured on her journey toward a bright future. Despite the pains children in Africa are put through, their attitudes, like the “Moremi” child painting, must be associated with the same smiles that radiate a profound sense of optimism and a belief that life only gets better with the right types of battles