Ela: In Silhouette

Ẹbu Ìyá Mọòpó, the Sacred Potter Field, is home to three of Susanne Wenger’s boldest and most significant sculptures, of which Ẹ̀là is one. This slender majestic sculpture is more than 8 meters in height and becomes one with the trees behind it.
Ẹ̀là is the Messenger, acting as the intermediary between the òrìṣà and mankind, reaches out his arms to the divine dimension, its feet grounded to, yet slightly above, the earthly dimension.
Ẹ̀là was made entirely from reinforced cement from its inception and has needed no restoration.
This photo is by Adolphus Opara, a talented artist-photographer who documented the Ọ̀ṣun Òṣogbo Shrines and Sculptures for the Trust. Opara has exhibited widely including at the Tate Gallery, London and at Harvard University, USA where his photos of the Osun Grove were exhibited as part of a Conference on the connections between sacred groves in Nigeria and in Brazil. He selected this photo out of his collection as one of ten of his favourite works inspired by the Groves.