ROAD RUNNERS

ROAD RUNNERS Despite the growing density in the cities and tonal riots competing for attention; I decided to zero in on these streets impossible by observing and exploring the daily road routine of these hawkers. I created these images to be a reflection of urban colors which in a large perspective forms the backdrop where they are mostly seen. In addition, I painted them in a different light by using colors and shadows to represent desire and hope for the future. Street hawking is one of the sources of livelihood for some youths who are bent on working hard to eke out a living for themselves disregarding their circumstances. Street hawking as part of the segments in the informal sector, made up 58.82% of Nigerian 2015 GDP as reported by the National Bureau of statistics. I chose to focus my art on these set of people because they are part of our everyday life and can be identified almost across all cities in Africa. What drew my attention to them is the synchronization in what they sell, the beautiful color combination in what they wear, and how they surprisingly roam in groups sometimes. These all add a great hue to the foreground, painting a picturesque scene. By choosing a landscape orientation, it shows how they feature in the cityscape. Road runners is about spatial interrogation of informal trade in an informal space and public space appropriation. They are the unseen beauty, my streets Impossible.