Photo credit; CBC
The world’s largest drawing is a 1,000.7 square-metre artwork by Nigerian artist Fola David.
CBC reports that the work shows Nigeria’s various cultures.
Dr Adefemi Gbadamosi, whose artist name is Fola Davids, says he hasn’t been the same since he created the world’s largest drawing.
The artwork—at 1,0004.7 square metres—or nearly as big as four tennis courts—Unity of Diversity is a map of Nigeria filled with the country’s many different styles of food, dance, music, art, history, and more. Davids, hunched over in front of a crowd at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, a football stadium in Lagos in July, took six days to draw in black marker.
Before working, he travelled all over his home country to experience its various cultures firsthand.
Davids said, “It did change me. It broadened my knowledge of myself, of what I can achieve if, you know, I set my mind to something.”
The artwork, done with a permanent marker on canvas, broke the Guinness World Record for the largest drawing by an individual, previously held by Indian artist Ravi Soni for his 629.98 square-metre drawing, Tree of Life.
David is an artist and a medical doctor known for his speed painting. He says he got the idea to go for the Guinness record nine years ago.
He said, “I usually paint in front of a large crowd or audience. I wanted to see what it would be like to paint in front of the whole world.”
He finally settled on a love letter to Nigerian culture. But knowing that Nigeria is home to more than 200 million people from over 250 ethnic groups and speaking over 500 languages, he decided to travel around the country with funding from Tolarams, a Singapore-based company that does business in Nigeria.
He said, “I spoke to the political leaders. I spoke to cultural leaders to learn about these cultures. And then, I spent time eating their food, listening to their music, the dance, the ceremonies they have.
“Nigeria is just so diverse, and I fell in love with so many different parts of the country.”
Among the imagery depicted are a Yoruba cooking pot and cultural attire, a periwinkle sea snail, a southern Nigerian delicacy; an Efik dancer, a mask of Queen Idia, the historic leader of the Edo people; and the Ada and Abere, the state worth of Yorubaland.
Davids says he is working with his sponsor to create a permanent viewing centre for the piece.
