Fela-Inspired Painting Goes Missing, Artist Sounds Alarm
Yinka Olatunbosun
In October 2020, while Lagos throbbed with the chants, sirens, and defiance of the #EndSARS protests, visual artist Mitchelle James Innocent was staging a quieter, yet no less radical, act of resistance in his studio.
On a 36 x 36-inch canvas, he resurrected the spirit of Fela Anikulapo Kuti — not merely as a musician, but as an “Emperor of Music.” The resulting work, “Passion for All; Fela’s Call (2020),” is an equestrian oil painting that positions the Afrobeat pioneer in a heroic visual dialogue with history. Drawing inspiration from Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps (1805), Mitchelle substitutes conquest for consciousness.
Fela rides a rearing white horse, not wielding a sword, but brandishing his orange saxophone. His weapon is sound; his command, rhythm; his battlefield, injustice. Carved into the rocky terrain beneath the horse are layered inscriptions — “FELA KUTI,” “BONAPARTE,” “KWARANTINE,” and “PALLIATHIEVES.” Where Napoleon symbolised empire, Fela embodies defiance. Where steel enforced power, lyrics mobilised it. The words “Kwarantine” and “Palliathieves” add a satirical, pandemic-era commentary, imagining what Fela might have sung about COVID-19’s political absurdities.
For Mitchelle, the painting was deeply personal. Born just four days after Fela, the artist describes their shared birth month as a symbolic echo. “Sharing a birth month with Fela made this tribute deeply personal,” he says. “His fire shaped my understanding of art as a weapon.” Created as a posthumous birthday honour, the work bridges generations, linking classical European art, Afrobeat resistance, pandemic satire, and youth protest culture.
The painting brims with symbolism: the horse’s upward strain mirrors a nation in motion; Nigeria’s yellow trumpet flowers and the horse’s green-white-green and Pan-African colours boldly declare identity. It was publicly exhibited at the New Afrika Shrine during Felabration 2024 and at Art Hotel Lagos, valued at N500,000 at its last showing.
In January 2025, Mitchelle relocated from Lagos, leaving part of his collection behind in his former Satellite Town studio. While most pieces were documented and sent elsewhere, one remained — until October 2025, when “Passion for All; Fela’s Call” was confirmed missing. Despite efforts to recover it, the disappearance was formally reported to the Satellite Town police.
The painting remains the intellectual property of Mitchelle James Innocent. Any attempt to reproduce, digitise, mint, or exploit it commercially without written permission is a violation of copyright law and will be prosecuted.
Mitchelle frames the loss as both personal and symbolic: “This was not just a painting. It was created in the spirit of protest, in honour of the Emperor of Music who shaped my understanding of courage. Losing it feels like losing a chapter of my own creative identity.”
He appeals to collectors, curators, galleries, and the public: report any sighting or attempted sale. Recovering the artwork, for Mitchelle, is about more than reclaiming a canvas — it’s about restoring a voice.
