Va-Bene on a crusade for tolerance and respect Long deep red artificial fingernails were busy setting up earrings with sparkling shades of white and red, as if they were incrusted with diamonds and rubies. As soon as it was done, it was time for make-up to be applied. Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi, alias crazinisT_artisT on Instagram, a Ghanaian contemporary art performer, was holding his iPhone as a mirror to apply a blue pencil on the contour of his eyes and lips. He would then add a pinch of pink gloss at the center of his lips which he would rub expertly to create a gradation of colors. Va-Bene talked with conviction about his imminent performance at the Iwaya Community Art Festival (ICAF Lagos 2017). His eyes were sending flashes, as he spoke, while two hair assistants were undoing his braids to turn them into woolly pompons. Va-Bene with make-up He was getting dressed-up in an open corner room on the first floor of an construction building over...
people, size, ambitions, visions, all these make plenty of things to tell about Nigeria, the land of plenty