The ''Iyasile Naa'', also known as ''The legacy'', is a

digital painting Digital painting is an established art medium that typically combines a computer, a graphics tablet, and software of choice. The artist uses painting and drawing with the stylus that comes with the graphics tablet to create 2D paintings within a ...

created by Ade Olufeko, a designer known for his multidisciplinary work on African

social economics Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...

. The original artwork was created in 2013. It underwent enhancements in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

and was reissued in 2017 as a major collaboration project piece through an African conference at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. According to the ''Vanguard'' news, parts of the artwork were influenced by 1985's ''

We Are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album ''We Are the World''. Wit ...

'' music project. Legal experts suggest that the eventual buyer of the artwork's reissue cannot financially

exploit Exploit means to take advantage of something (a person, situation, etc.) for one's own end, especially unethically or unjustifiably. Exploit can mean: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploit (computer security) * Video game exploit *Exploitat ...

the work until the year 2033, stating that all "proceeds at any time from sales will remain within the African economic system."

Background

Olufeko's mobile studio in Silver Spring Maryland

In the spring of 2013, Olufeko known for his cross-disciplinary signature through technology, created the artwork on the premise of social inclusion, brain gain and

innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity ...

. The art piece originally titled, ''Whatever is destroyed is created again'', was made for and leveraged by an

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

, the ''United for Kids Foundation'' in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Revealed for the first time at the Whittemore House making its debut to the public, it successfully raised money for children, and all proceeds were used to build libraries and classrooms in Lagos, Nigeria. The artwork surfaced at another fundraiser at the Civic Center in Lagos, drawing affluent

patrons Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the arts, doubling donations of its previous

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

. The conception of the finished piece is suggested to be forecast of the continent's economic growth.

Design

The artwork is described as a

visual The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight (the ...

albedo Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of sunlight, solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body ...

, it incorporates and is classified as;

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

, digital abstracts and painted work. Portions of the piece were created via a

graphics tablet A graphics tablet (also known as a digitizer, digital graphic tablet, pen tablet, drawing tablet, external drawing pad or digital art board) is a computer input device that enables a user to hand-draw images, animations and graphics, with a spec ...

on an

iMac iMac is a family of all-in-one Mac desktop computers designed and built by Apple Inc. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its debut in August 1998, and has evolved through seven distinct forms. In it ...

, and printed to heavy

coated paper Coated paper (also known as enamel paper, gloss paper, and thin paper) is paper that has been coated by a mixture of materials or a polymer to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness, or reduced ink absor ...

. It is sprinkled with crushed

amethyst Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that t ...

clusters, acrylic diamond

confetti Confetti are small pieces or streamers of paper, mylar, or metallic material which are usually thrown at celebrations, especially parades and weddings. The origins are from the Latin ''confectum'', with ''confetti'' the plural of Italian ''con ...

and inscribed with

permanent markers A permanent marker or indelible marker is a type of marker pen that is used to create permanent or semi-permanent writing on an object. In general, the ink comprises a main carrier solvent, a glyceride, a 2-Pyrrolidone, pyrrolidone, a resin and ...

. The year 2053 appears in the center of the work allowing interpretations of trajectories to theorists. As part of the reissue, signatures and enhanced artistic deformations were added for

Art valuation Art valuation, an art-specific subset of Valuation (finance), financial valuation, is the process of estimating the market value of Work of art, works of art. As such, it is more of a financial rather than an aesthetics, aesthetic concern, ...

Reissue and Sungbo's Eredo

In spring 2017, Olufeko attended and spoke at the

Blavatnik School of Government The Blavatnik School of Government is a school of public policy founded in 2010 at the University of Oxford in England. The School was founded following a £75 million donation from a business magnate Leonard Blavatnik, supported by £26 million ...

's ''Breaking the Frame orks' conference alongside other

thought leader A thought leader has been described as an individual or firm recognized as an authority in a specific field and also as business jargon. Meanings Go-to expert From the perspective of a thought leader as the 'go-to expert', being a thought leader ...

s, discussing the "changing state of the African continent", on the topics of media, technology and governance. Prior to the conference, Olufeko collaborated with the conference team at Oxford to reissue the painting, "Philosophers’ Legacy ". The new version and charity experiment was created in

stealth mode In business, stealth mode is a company's temporary state of secretiveness, usually undertaken to avoid alerting competitors to a pending product launch or another business initiative. When an entire company is in stealth mode it may attempt to ...

. The piece was completed in October 2017, making its debut inside

Sungbo's Eredo Sungbo's Eredo is a system of defensive walls and ditches that is located to the southwest of the Yoruba people, Yoruba town of Ijebu Ode in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria (). It was built in 800–1000 AD in honour of the Ijebu noblewoman Oloye Bi ...

, an African monument. The release coincided with the 10th anniversary marking of

Visual Collaborative Visual Collaborative is an American festival and publishing platform highlighting the intersections of people, commerce, and innovation. Acclaim for its social impact in humanities, it was featured by VOA, for advancing the cause of humanities and ...

Name change and blockchain

In early 2022, It was announced by

The Guardian (Nigeria) ''The Guardian'' is a Nigerian independent daily newspaper, established in 1983, published by Guardian Newspapers Limited in Lagos, Nigeria History ''The Guardian'' was established in 1983 by Alex Ibru, an entrepreneur, and Stanley Macebuh, a t ...

news that the artwork had been renamed from ''Philosophers Legacy'' to Iyasile Naa which means "the legacy" in the

Yoruba language Yoruba (, ; Yor. '; Ajami script, Ajami: ) is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern Middle Belt, and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the Ethnic group, ethnic Yoruba people. The number of Yoruba speake ...

. This was done to protect

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

and alleviate conflicts during the rapid use of NFTs

non-fungible tokens A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the ...

on the Blockchain. The changes aim to be a direct benefit for aspiring digital painters and enthusiasts.

Reception

According to ''Road to Africa'', the artwork's place in the

Fourth Industrial Revolution The Fourth Industrial Revolution, 4IR, or Industry 4.0, conceptualizes rapid change to technology, industries, and societal patterns and processes in the 21st century due to increasing interconnectivity and smart automation. The term has bee ...

can be leveraged to aid ongoing brain-gain initiatives to steer NGOs, the private sector and friends of the continent which includes its diasporas into a self-reliant, yet an interdependent partner of the world economy. A derivative work named

Remember To Rise ''Remember To Rise'' ( ar, كن يقضا أحلام سوداء) subtitled ''Black's Dream'' is a derivative work of the ''Iyasile Naa'', a massive art collaboration. Observing innovation in developing countries, technologist of '' Ijebu'' desce ...

was created a year later.

Autographs

The following is a list of persons at and outside the oxford conference who signed the artwork. * Mike Adenuga Jr. GCON, CSG, CLH – Business magnate * Tokunbo Talabi – Businessman, politician * Fred Swaniker – Leadership development expert

Support signatures

*Dr. Yene Assegid – Leadership coach *

Donald Kaberuka Donald P. Kaberuka (born 5 October 1951) is a Rwandan economist and was the president of the African Development Bank from September 2005 until September 2015. Early life and education Kaberuka was born in Byumba, Rwanda. He studied at the Unive ...

– Economist * Seko Shamte – Tanzanian filmmaker *

Nawal M. Nour Nawal M. Nour is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist who directs the Ambulatory Obstetrics Practice at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Her research and practice focus on providing the right care to women who have undergone female genital mutilation/cut ...

– African women's health practitioner *Eryca Freemantle – Global beauty ambassador *

Banky Wellington Olubankole Wellington (born 27 March 1981), popularly known by his stage name Banky W and credited in film as Banky Wellington, is a Nigerian singer, rapper, actor, entrepreneur and politician. Early life Olubankole Wellington was born in the ...

– Nigerian singer and media mogul *

Jake Okechukwu Effoduh Okechukwu Jake Emmanuel Effoduh (born 12 December 1987) is a Nigerian radio personality, human rights activist and lawyer. He anchored the community radio show ''Flava'' on BBC Media Action and is hosting the ''Talk Your Own: Make Naija Better' ...

– Activist and lawyer *Vivian Ojo – Conference chair *François-Xavier Ada – Researcher *Angel Jones – Brain gain advocate *Ademola Adesina – renewable energy investor * Simukai Chigudu – Medical doctor *Vimbai Gwata – technologist *Kevin Marsh – Oxford professor *Gareth Ackerman – Businessman *Leona Hauldren – British preschooler

References

{{Avant-garde, state=collapsed Contemporary works of art American paintings