Yorùbá spirituality inspires surreal sculptures in this sacred grove
At the edge of Òṣogbo in Nigeria, strange and monumental forms emerge from the forest: sculptures, shrines and architectural works that seem to grow out of the greenery itself. This is Ọṣun-Òṣogbo, a sacred grove dedicated to the deities of Yorùbá spirituality, and especially to Ọṣun, the river goddess. Once neglected in the 1950s, the site has since been revived as both a place of pilgrimage for devotees and a destination for visitors drawn to its extraordinary fusion of art, landscape and belief.
In this video, the Ethiopian American filmmaker Sosena Solomon is guided through Ọṣun-Òṣogbo by local artists and experts, who reveal how the grove’s sculptures are shaped by craft, devotion and spiritual imagination. Their forms are surreal, but not separate from the place that holds them: each work belongs to the forest, the river and the living traditions of Yorùbá worship. Part of the series Africa’s Cultural Landmarks, produced by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in collaboration with the World Monuments Fund, the film offers a vivid encounter with a sacred landscape where art is not decoration, but presence.
Video by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Director: Sosena Solomon
Producer: Ann C Collins
