| Iyasile Naa | |
|---|---|
| What Ever Is Destroyed Is Created Again | |
 Painting of the Legacy, 2017 version | |
| Artist | Ade Olufeko |
| Year | 2013-2017 |
| Medium | Mixed media painting Giclée |
| Movement | African Renaissance Digital Art Fractal art |
| Subject | Emerging economies,Charity work |
| Dimensions | 60 cm × 91 cm (24 in × 36 in) |
| Designation | Berne Convention -for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works |
| Location | Lagos |
TheIyasile Naa, also known asThe legacy, is adigital painting created byAde Olufeko, a designer known for his multidisciplinary work on Africansocial economics. The original artwork was created in 2013. It underwent enhancements inLagos and was reissued in 2017 as a major collaboration project piece through an African conference atOxford University.[1] According to theVanguard news, parts of the artwork were influenced by 1985'sWe Are the World music project. Legal experts suggest that the eventual buyer of the artwork's reissue cannot financiallyexploit the work until the year 2033, stating that all "proceeds at any time from sales will remain within theAfrican economic system."[2]
In the spring of 2013, Olufeko known for his cross-disciplinary signature through technology, created the artwork on the premise of social inclusion,brain gain andinnovation. The art piece originally titled,Whatever is destroyed is created again, was made for and leveraged by anNGO, theUnited for Kids Foundation inWashington D.C.[3]
Revealed for the first time at theWhittemore House making its debut to the public, it successfully raised money for children, and all proceeds were used to build libraries and classrooms in Lagos, Nigeria.[3] The artwork surfaced at another fundraiser at the Civic Center in Lagos, drawing affluentpatrons of the arts, doubling donations of its previousauction.
The conception of the finished piece is suggested to be forecast of the continent's economic growth.[2]
The artwork is described as avisualalbedo, it incorporates and is classified as;mixed media, digital abstracts and painted work. Portions of the piece were created via agraphics tablet on aniMac, and printed to heavycoated paper. It is sprinkled with crushedamethyst clusters, acrylic diamondconfetti and inscribed withpermanent markers. The year 2053 appears in the center of the work allowing interpretations of trajectories to theorists. As part of the reissue, signatures and enhanced artistic deformations were added forArt valuation.[2]
In spring 2017, Olufeko attended and spoke at theBlavatnik School of Government'sBreaking the Frame[works] conference alongside otherthought leaders, discussing the "changing state of the African continent", on the topics of media, technology and governance.[1] Prior to the conference, Olufeko collaborated with the conference team at Oxford to reissue the painting, "Philosophers’ Legacy ". The new version andcharity experiment was created instealth mode. The piece was completed in October 2017, making its debut insideSungbo's Eredo, an African monument. The release coincided with the 10th anniversary marking ofVisual Collaborative.
In early 2022, It was announced byThe Guardian (Nigeria) news that the artwork had been renamed fromPhilosophers Legacy toIyasile Naa which means "the legacy" in theYoruba language. This was done to protectintellectual property and alleviate conflicts during the rapid use of NFTsnon-fungible tokens on the Blockchain. The changes aim to be a direct benefit for aspiring digital painters and enthusiasts.[4]
According toRoad to Africa, the artwork's place in theFourth Industrial Revolution can be leveraged to aid ongoing brain-gain initiatives to steer NGOs, the private sector and friends of the continent which includes its diasporas into a self-reliant, yet an interdependent partner of the world economy.[5] A derivative work namedRemember To Rise was created a year later.
The following is a list of persons at and outside the oxford conference who signed the artwork.[2]