Royal Drummers

Name: Royal Drummers
Brand: Raknida
Price: 55.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Omotayo Tajudeen

Painterly photograph of drummers in cream robes and caps walking in procession, dark red drums at their sides, on red earth under a bright blue sky, with an arch and crowd at right.

$55.00

A procession of drummers in cream robes crosses red earth under a deep blue sky, wine-red drums slung at their sides. It is Omotayo Tajudeen's painterly 2019 photograph.

Royal Drummers is a Studio Edition: 20 museum-quality art prints in each size, each numbered in its white border. Every artwork comes with its Cultural Passport.

The Cultural Passport

Every order comes with the heritage documented.

Digital, emailed when your order ships: the work's story, the tradition it draws on and how it was made. 5 × 7 in (13 × 18 cm), ready to print and frame beside the work.

How it works →

The drums arrive before anyone of rank. Omotayo Tajudeen photographed royal drummers of the Nupe, as he identifies them, crossing red earth under a hard blue sky in cream robes and caps, then reworked the image until it streaks like brushwork. In West African courts the drum is the court’s memory, reciting the ruler’s praise names and the deeds of his forebears as it walks. Tajudeen, a documentary photographer drawn to the colour of Renaissance painting, leaves the faces in shadow; a robe blurs in motion, and the procession is still passing.

The culture · Nupe, north-central Nigeria. The Nupe live along the Niger and Kaduna rivers in north-central Nigeria. Their kingdom is centuries old, and their craftsmen are famed for glasswork and brass.

Motifs in this work

Wine-red drums: the court's voice, announcing the ruler before he appears

Cream robes and caps: the drummers' ceremonial dress

Painterly streaks: a documentary moment pushed toward painting

Edition: Edition of 20 in each size · 20 across all sizes. Further runs possible once a size sells out, each tagged (Run 2). Edition numbers count the works sold through Raknida; the artist may also sell their own editions of this work.
Numbering: Number, title and artist printed in the white border.
Printing: Museum-quality giclée with archival pigment inks on museum-grade cotton fine art paper.
Year: 2019
Includes: Your numbered artwork and its Cultural Passport.

Size	Sheet	Image	Museum-Quality Print only	Framed	Available
S	12 × 9 in	10 × 7½ in	$55	+$65	20

The artist

Omotayo Tajudeen

Undeclared · Nigeria · 2 works on Raknida

Omotayo Tajudeen has spent six years as a documentary photographer in Nigeria, on subjects from agriculture to social and economic life. This includes work with the Nigeria Girl Guides Association on stories of empowerment and community. His photographs have appeared in international publications and been exhibited by ICP and FORMAT. He is drawn to the rich colour and dramatic composition of Renaissance painting. He also works in fine art, portraiture, fashion and beauty, with an eye for fabric and for the play of light and colour. He is a member of the Africa Photo-Journalism Database and Diversify Photo's Up Next group.

View full profile →All 2 works →