Spirits Made
Visible
Embodied Spirits draws from the rich masquerade traditions of Onitsha in Igboland — living cultural ceremonies where ancestral spirits cross into the physical world through elaborate costume, movement, and ritual. Each masquerade carries distinct meaning: some are guardians of social order, others are ambassadors of beauty, and still others embody the raw, untamed energy of youth.
At the centre of this body of work is the Ijele — the largest and most magnificent masquerade in all of Igboland. A towering spectacle of colour and symbolism, the Ijele emerges only on the most significant occasions, accompanied by the thundering rhythm of the Igba Ino (four drums). It is a monument to communal pride, carried forward across generations.
Alongside Ijele, the series explores the Agbogho Mmuo — the maiden spirit, known for its graceful choreography and vibrant regalia — and Otu Iche, a fierce and confrontational presence seen during Iwaji festivals and youth initiation rites. Together, these masquerades form a constellation of spiritual, social, and aesthetic meaning that REWA translates into her signature bold figuration.
The series also takes in Izaga, who crosses fences and boundaries on stilts with a machete in hand, and Mmuo Ogonogo, of Igala origin, tall and majestic, called upon for the final burial commendation, for initiation into the masquerade cult, and for the checks and balances that hold a community together.
This series is a homecoming — a return to the cosmology and ceremony of REWA's Igbo heritage, rendered with the same unflinching directness and chromatic power that defines her wider practice.
