The complexity and impact of the information consumed from childhood on the life of an adult.

6 min readOct 30, 2020

AAA Exhibition: BOX 2020

Afrikrown Annual Art exhibition was launched in 2019 with the aim of supporting, promoting and exposing young African artists, presenting the value their art embodies while addressing societal issues through awareness creation which encourages constructive conversation and fosters change.

Our young artists involved in this year’s exhibition were Jane Ugah and Victor Eko, with unique styles of art, creating a sense of engagement for their audience with every brush stroke with artworks that are involving and can be related to even without words to reveal their essence.

This year the exhibition went virtual on the 28th September — 2nd October, with the theme ‘BOX’, we focused on the complexity and impacts of the information consumed from childhood on the life of an adult. A live session was held to address the above mentioned topic with our guest speaker, Toluse Dove Francis also known as the Mentalist. An excerpt of the session is seen below (full session can be viewed here; afrikrown_).

Question 1

The Box is an accumulation of all the information that an individual has been exposed to since they were born. Can you talk a bit about its complexity, seeing that although it entails all the person knows, it is not universally accepted and may be seen as inadequate in a different part of the world.

(For instance, a Nigerian may visit Australia and think that some of the behaviors there are uncanny)

Answer

The box is filled with things both consciously and unconsciously put in… complexity arises in a box when we don’t understand where we want to be and we try to source that information from outside of ourselves. (Full answer can be viewed here; afrikrown_).

Question 2

Is it right to say that the concept of belief is paradoxical? …Also, what is the nature of belief in relation to the Box?

Answer

Not all beliefs are universal. Separating people from what they believe in is like trying to divide people from themselves. The belief of a people is not superficial, but it is an offset of their tradition or practices… You may not be able to separate people from their beliefs. You have to take them to what they don’t know from what they know. You have to know where the belief comes from as well; past experiences, engagements, faith or the locality they grew up. (Full answer can be viewed here; afrikrown_).

Question 3

Would you say it is a risk for an individual to step outside of all they know in order to expand this Box?

Answer

It is a risk!

In order to succeed, you must take risks. It allows you to know if what you have in your mind is real or not. When you take a risk of stepping out, it allows you to come back and access yourself, your thought process, beliefs and find out if you have been shortchanging yourself. You must ask yourself; is this risk worth it? Understand that you might be alone. You need to gauge it psychologically and emotionally.

Understand also, that there is no successful person that has not passed through trials or challenges… (Full answer can be viewed here; afrikrown_).

Question 4

· Can it be said that doubt is a tool to expand the Box? How so?

· Can you proffer other possible tools to expand?

Answer

Doubt, just like anger, can be positive or negative. The only time it is really negative is in form of ‘self doubt’. What might be seen as a weakness could be all you need to do what you want to do. Doubt as a for stepping out of the box is relative to the person and they are doubting…

Other tools

-You must have a mind of your own and try to develop a good critique system. Don’t wait only for what other people say.

… (Full answer can be viewed here; afrikrown_).

Question 5

Please I would like you to talk a little about the rigidity of an individual’s mind based on his or her beliefs, and the importance of doubt for such an individual to grow in knowledge.

Answer

You cannot be a grounded person if you’re stuck on your beliefs. Rigidity is expensive. You cannot afford to hold onto what you know alone, so you must learn to live beyond beliefs and build your knowledge. Education is expensive as well… (Full answer can be viewed here; afrikrown_).

Question 6

How can one create a balance between doubt as a negative element (as in self doubt, or unbelief) and doubt as a tool to expand this Box? Is there an angle of neutrality?

Answer

The word ‘doubt’ seems crippling, let us use the phrase ‘the fear of missing out. You need to prepare yourself for opportunities. The world is looking for leaders, thinkers, innovators and disruptors. What sort of an impact are you making in the small space you find yourself?

(Full answer can be viewed here; afrikrown_).

Bonus question

Is there anything you would like to add?

Answer

If you live your life with a right mind, at some point it might create a question of self existence. While one voice tells you that you are worth it, another voice may say otherwise. It is important to ask yourself why you think you are not worth it. When you try to find answers to these questions, you find out that some of the reasons for your doubt are not worth it. They may have come from what other people said or books you read. While trying to answer these questions, if you get stuck get help from a coach or a therapist.

(Full session can be viewed here; afrikrown_).

Stay tuned for more articles on this topic.

The virtual exhibition where the artists explained what their artworks are all about was aired online, with excerpts on youtube.

(Click here to view the full exhibition).