Bosede,

2018

With her Ivie series, Idahor encourages women to gather strength from the power of the iyoba, the queen mother of the oba (king) of Benin. For centuries, the iyoba and other members of the Benin royal family have worn coral regalia that announces their wealth and status. Today, brides across Nigeria wear similar coral necklaces and headdresses, or more attainable plastic versions. To create Bosede, a common Yorùbá name, the artist printed a photograph of a woman wearing coral ivie (beads), then cut the portrait along the contours of the adornments, removing the under-lying body. The resulting void denies an objectifying gaze and highlights the power that ivie represent. The artist declares her Ivie series “a call for women to begin seeing the title of ‘woman’ as power in itself, to reclaim the respect that this position entitles them to, and to boldly occupy their place of authority in the world.”