Running Girl Number 27 is a trilogy of look-alike drawings. The series of three is based on the fact that the leader of the Boko Haram had so many look-alikes that it was difficult to tell if he was dead or alive. He is now believed to be dead.

The Trinity is a Christian metaphor for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The words goodluck, badluck, and dumbluck are inspired by the former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathon’s name. 

The Trinity comments on events in 2014, when the Nigerian government said the kidnapped girls would be freed as part of a cease-fire. The London Telegraph hinted the cease-fire was driven by the upcoming announcement that Goodluck would be running for President again and just a political stunt.  Yet the soldiers believed a cease-fire was in place, and the girls were not freed as promised.

In the artworks, the word “deceased-fire” refers to all the people who were killed by the Boko Haram due to the faux cease-fire. The F grades Goodluck.

Note that the letter “L” has been dropped from Badluck and the “f” from deceased-fire replaces it, spelling f-uck. This symbolizes the bad things being done by bad men and the continued raping of the missing girls. The “f” in Goodluck is about what he has done to the country.  And the “f” in Dumbluck references how the Boko Haram is against educating women (yet it is through education that we can stop this cycle of violence).  The loss of the “L” and the substitution of the “f” removes any love from the situation.  Here, the repeated use of the word luck and belief in luck also dismisses God from it.

Each artwork is 60” x 44”– mixed media on paper.