Ariya

David Herbert Dale was born to a British father and a Nigerian mother of Itsekiri/Ijaw extraction in Kano in 1947. At the age of 2 he relocated to the United Kingdom where he spent nearly two decades before returning to Nigeria to continue his secondary education in Lagos. His stay at St. Gregory College, Lagos was very significant for him as it marked the beginning of his early interest and career as an artist. He met his art teacher and master, Bruce Onobrakpeya, who taught and encouraged him as a student to take up art as a profession. He went on to obtain a B.A in Fine Arts and Art History, majoring in Painting, from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1971. After his graduation, Dale continued to practice and explore other media including lino engraving and foil methods under his master, Bruce Onobrakpeya, for a few years before he started exhibiting as a solo artist in 1973.

Ariya in Yoruba simply means “merry”. An engraving on wood, the piece displays five human figures (two men and three women) who are dressed to the nine for an occasion in their native attires. The men are dressed in Agbada and Fila while the women are adorned in grotesque blouses, head ties and wrappers on their waist. From their looks, one could guess they are middle-aged men and women. They all seem to be in motion; the woman on the extreme right can be seen in a “flirting” posture with her pause on her left arm. Her co-conversers seem to be enjoying the moment staring at her. The men on the other hand look indifferent in their demeanor with their attention on other things.