Swing Low, 2024

The painting draws inspiration from Nengi Omuku's recent residency at Civitella Ranieri in Italy, where morning walks revealed breathtaking landscapes that felt almost heavenly. The serene environment juxtaposed with the awareness of our current troubled times globally, influenced the composition of the painting. In the foreground, figures rest and move through nature, absorbing their surroundings while in the middle right corner, a scene from a political rally unfolds, capturing a moment of chaos as the crowd tumbles over itself. This tumultuous energy transforms within the painting into an abstract mark that spirals off to the right, extending beyond the canvas. The title, inspired by an African-American spiritual, references the low-hanging sky in the painting, which looms ominously close to the ground, suggesting an impending apocalyptic event.