By Damiete Braide
In Nigeria, if you are not a famous writer, publishing and printing houses will not want to publish your works because they are not out to groom up-and-coming writers rather they prefer writers that are famous.
Peju Alatise, a multi-disciplinary artist made this known during her book launch, Silifat at Alliance Franciase, Ikoyi last week.
The book is an anthology of photographs, paintings and short stories while the photography was done by Adeyinka Akingbade.
Narrating her ordeal to the audience, Alatise said; “ It is one of the problems that I had not been able to find a publisher in Nigeria that is interested in producing my work with me. I published my first work, Orita-meta in South Africa and that was where an editor saw the work and told me how to go about publishing the book. He told me that it is time for me to do something with Silifat..
“ I wrote Silifat in 2006 and prior to that I had Orita-meta, which had a particular character in it, Silifat. Silifat was inspired by a young woman who was married to my father’s friend, who was in his 70s while the young woman was a teenager and she was not married to him but was gifted to him. In my first book, Orita-meta, Silifat featured in it and just before Orita-meta was about to be printed, I felt really bad how I represented her in the book and I felt that there was more to her. I wanted her to redeem the character, she was not the protagonist of the book, so, I had to make another book for her.
“ I wrote 12 short stories about Silifat and Silifat talks the story about many young women in Nigeria and what they face. I wrote the book in order to redeem her and shed more light on her journey. Silifat is a story that needs to be heard and shared with people. The stories are written in a way that you can add to it and I can always come back in and out of the books. It is an open ended book, and I leave it to you in your own imagination to redeem Silifat in your own way.
Prof. Jerry Buhari in his foreward wrote, “ The 12 Seasons of Silifat’s World, Peju Alatise, the multi-media artist, in collaboration with the photographer, Adeyinka Akingbade take on “Silifat” to share a unique story in text and images.
“Silifat is about the told and untold stories of young girls, and their struggles as they navigate through the jungle of identity formation and self-confidence. It is a combined exploration of life entangled in our ever-shifting complexities of cultural flux. She confronts traditional norms, and hypocritical oppressive systems, through encounters with her parents, neighbours, guardians and colleagues.
“ She is 12 Seasons of stories, consists of paintings and photographs and in their own right compliment the textured textual stories to give us faces of “Silifats in our neighbourhoods. The paintings of Peju Alatise in black and white and the photographs of Adeyinka Akingbade sandwiched between the stories are collaborative and commemorative of Silifat. All the paintings and photographs appear to have been composed as portraits of a tapestry of human experience, from birth to old age. The features, costumes, poses, and facial expressions defined in lines, colours, and black and white, seem to mirror the personage of Silifat and other characters.
Akingbade added “ We as a people should have a firm belief in the continuous growth and development of individuals, even amidst life’s challenges. Collaborating extensively with Peju Alatise over the years on various projects, I have been deeply moved by her unwavering commitment to her craft and authenticity imbued in both the storytelling and creative executions. Thus, it is no coincidence that such a remarkable story should be crafted by such an exceptional talented artiste.
“ Silifat’s tale resonates deeply with me, providing a soft landing for the realisation of this project. However assembling individuals with distinct facial expressions to embody the diverse characters proved to be a significant challenge, particularly during these times when security concerns looms large in our nation.
Nonetheless, the pre-shoot sharing of silicate’s story captivates the minds of many individuals, striking a chord within them. It is my belief that every family possesses their own Silifat.
Lesley Lababidi added Silifat is an excellent story of generational trauma that encompasses all the signs of emotional depersonalization, grief, isolation, anger. A first read, I was confused with the transitions particularly between chapter 1-3 and concerned with the narrative was too specific and culturally local. The second reading brought clarity of the theme.
For me, the first chapter that set up the vast societal change is extraordinarily important though I struggled with the following chapters as to where it was headed. By the fourth chapter, I understood your direction. The subject is hard hitting and difficult that fills the offices of therapists and psychiatrists in Western societies and in this vocal setting, one is left totally alone. Your narrative focuses on a microcosm of this particular culture; it is survival on an instinctual level.
The book is well written, I like the Nigerian, the cadence, the use of words and the cultural references.
Umana Udobang, Master of Ceremony (MC) disclosed Alatise is an impactful story teller, so a lot of her works speaks to Nigerian condition and women in the country. The book is an expression of many of her story telling expression from sculpture, painting, fabric and writing which is a different form of storytelling and that is what we are celebrating. The author is constantly creating stories in so many different forms and mediums for us to consume and get different messages.
