Twins Seven Seven

Twins Seven Seven, born Omoba Taiwo Olaniyi Oyewale-Toyeje Oyelale Osuntoki (3 May 1944 – 16 June 2011) was a Nigerian painter, sculptor and musician.

[4] His mother was instructed by a babalawo to drink water sacred to the river goddess Osun to ensure her child's survival.

Visually, his work resembles Yoruba carvings in the segmentation, division and repetition of his compositions; conceptually, it reflects this influence in the emphasis on transformation and balance, as well as its embodiment of dualities such as the earthly and the spiritual, past and present, industry and agriculture.

However, Twins Seven Seven also described his work as "contemporary Yoruba traditional art", not only paying homage to the influence of his cultural background but also to noting his responsiveness to current events and the postcolonial experience.

Some of his early work was influenced by his reading a copy of Amos Tutuola's book My Life in the Bush of Ghosts that was gifted to him by Georgina Beier.

[10] He taught at the Ile Ife Black Humanitarian Center in North Philadelphia in the early 1970s along with Barbara Bullock and Charles Searles, whom he influenced.

[1] In July 1982, he survived a car crash — although an erroneous radio announcement of his death was made after he was pulled unconscious from the wrecked vehicle — and was subsequently given an artificial hip and confined to bed for 18 months.

[1] Around this time, he also bought land in the village of Sekola, planning to turn it into a Yoruba-themed park and tourist destination entitled "Paradise Resort," but it never came to fruition.

[1] He was designated UNESCO Artist for Peace on 25 May 2005 "in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of dialogue and understanding among peoples, particularly in Africa and the African Diaspora".