by Taiye Idahor

My first solo exhibition and body of work titled “Hairvolution” in 2014 set the direction for this series
where I examined the resultant implications of the void created by my paternal grandmother in my
family. Moving forward I became curios about similar kinds of voids created by the absence of women in
similar or other circumstances.
During a visit in 2015 to Benin city Edo State Nigeria, I escorted my mother to visit an old relative who
happened to be a priestess. In the visitor’s room where we waited, she had her uniquely carved and
painted high chair and when she entered the room, we all knelt to greet her. It was her title and position
that required we pay such homage. It was after that visit I started thinking about similar important
positions occupied by women in Benin City. I was quick to be reminded by my mother of the “Iyoba”
although she had already passed and I knew this already but what I didn’t know was that she had a left a
void that will remain for decades.

“Iyoba” in the Bini language means “mother of the king”. The last Queen mother, Iyoba Aghaowa,
passed away in 1999 and it was this void she left behind (and still exists today), similar to the one I
explored in the Hairvolution series that drew me to explore further and it birthed the Ivie series.
The title of Iyoba was first introduced in the 16th century by Oba Esigie in order to honor his mother,
Queen Idia, for her strength and support during his reign, and it remains a title of high rank within the
Benin royal hierarchy. Like the king, the Iyoba’s traditional regalia involves an elaborate ensemble of
coral beads.
After her passing, Oba Esigie commissioned a bronze head which was placed on the ancestral altars and
dedicated to Queen Idia his mother, a practice which is still done today. On these sculptures, she is
depicted with bead regalia that she would usually wear during special ceremonies and it is symbolic of
her high ranking title, her authority and influence. It is this bead regalia that have become my reference
in the “Ivie” series.

Ivie means “beads” and it can also be translated as “Beauty” in the Benin language. The majestic hollow
portraits I create also imitate this grandeur of the bead regalia to reflect women’s potential power
through the iconic figure of the Iyoba, Queen mother of Benin City, however in Nigeria today modern
Benin brides now casually imitate and evoke this regalia with plastic imitations during traditional
wedding ceremonies without truly understanding its significance.

This practice of imitation and authenticity raise important questions about the validity of the power and
respect accorded to women today and also question women’s awareness of their own plus the
important role they have to play in society. The collages and drawings of hair weaving through the
hollow portraits act as residue or trace of a person’s presence in absence of a body. These hair residues
floating in, out and around the portraits speaks of the uncertainty of power felt by women who must
define themselves among all of the conflicting expectations, demands, and disempowering realities of
society.

The Ivies series raises questions about how women occupy positions of power, and whether it is
possible to pull together various roles of marriage, family, motherhood, and business, against an
increasingly complex backdrop of traditional and religious expectations commingling with the
expectations of 21st century life. Is it possible for the modern woman to anchor herself in a way that
gives her real authority over her own identity and body? What does it mean to be a modern woman?
How do we occupy our position of womanhood? And might it not be better to look back to the powerful
women of Benin history for guidance who played very important roles in both family and society, rather
than looking to Eurocentric or western examples of female empowerment?
The Ivie series is a call for women to begin seeing their gender of “woman” as a title, a title of power,
influence, a call to reclaim this position and to boldly occupy their place of authority in the world.