Being Seen Right: Cultural Representation Through Costume in the Stage Presentation of Benedict Binebai’s Ferryboat (Published)
This article examined costume as a semiotic tool for cultural representation in Benedict Binebai’s Ferryboat, a play that dramatized the symbolic journey of Nigeria’s four major ethnic groups Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Ijaw toward national unity. Drawing on Stuart Hall’s constructionist theory of representation, the study employs a qualitative method of textual and performance analysis to explore how costume functions as a visual language that communicates identity, status, and sociopolitical position. The analysis reveals that costume in Ferryboat transcends aesthetics to encode historical memory, cultural specificity, and ideological meaning. Each character’s attire contextually grounded and ethnically distinct resists cultural flattening by affirming nuanced identities and regional narratives. The article concluded that accurate, intentional costuming is vital for ethical cultural representation, ensuring that communities are not merely visible, but seen right.
Keywords: Character, Communicate, Culture, Identity, Representation., visual language
Impact of Visual Images in Communicating Socio-Cultural and Political Messages in Bruce Onobrakpeya’s Artworks to Nigerian Peoples (Published)
The impact that visual images has on the dissemination of Bruce Onobrakpeya’s symbolic messages to the Nigerian peoples is the focus of this paper. The researchers stress that Onobrakpeya started to experiment with symbolic images of the Urhobo people and a complete set of ideograms that he calls IBIEBE symbols has emerged from this experiment. They reappraise the varied symbolic images that Bruce Onobrakpeya had used to disseminate national security messages to the Nigerian peoples. The study also places emphasis on the usage of colours in passing cultural messages in African society. It is, however, revealed that in some African cultures colours give contextual connotations to peace, danger and life respectively. Onobrakpeya’s childhood encounter with the colour red was used by the researcher to support this argument. It is concluded that through the inherent symbolic representations and communicative messages in his prints Onobrakpeya has encouraged patriotic ideals as a Nigerian citizen.
Keywords: African Society, Communicative message, Cultural messages, Representation., Symbolic, Symbolic messages