Hear my Gong
Hear My Gong, Lawal Said orchestrates a visual crescendo—an acrylic composition that reverberates with rhythm, identity, and emotional force. This painting is not merely a depiction of sound; it is sound made visible, a moment of cultural resonance captured in color and motion.
The central figure, adorned in a flowing multicolored garment and crowned with a bold afro, commands the canvas with expressive poise. One arm bent, the other extended, the pose suggests both invocation and release—as if the gong has just been struck and its echo is rippling through the air. The facial features are rendered with care, grounding the figure in realism while the surrounding energy lifts it into abstraction.
Said’s palette is electric: blues, purples, and greens swirl around the figure like sonic waves. These hues are not passive—they vibrate, pulse, and shimmer, creating a sense of movement that mirrors the reverberation of a gong. The background is ethereal yet charged, suggesting that the sound is not confined to the physical—it expands into the spiritual.
The brushstrokes are dynamic and layered, blending the figure into the surrounding patterns. This fusion of body and environment evokes the idea that sound—especially ceremonial sound—is immersive. It envelops the listener, dissolving boundaries between self and space. Said’s technique balances control with spontaneity, allowing emotion to guide form.
Hear My Gong is a visual invocation—a call to listen not just with ears, but with heart and memory. It celebrates the power of sound to awaken, to connect, and to transform. Said’s work invites us into a moment of ritual, where the strike of a gong becomes a portal to deeper understanding. It’s a painting that doesn’t just speak—it resounds.
The central figure, adorned in a flowing multicolored garment and crowned with a bold afro, commands the canvas with expressive poise. One arm bent, the other extended, the pose suggests both invocation and release—as if the gong has just been struck and its echo is rippling through the air. The facial features are rendered with care, grounding the figure in realism while the surrounding energy lifts it into abstraction.
Said’s palette is electric: blues, purples, and greens swirl around the figure like sonic waves. These hues are not passive—they vibrate, pulse, and shimmer, creating a sense of movement that mirrors the reverberation of a gong. The background is ethereal yet charged, suggesting that the sound is not confined to the physical—it expands into the spiritual.
The brushstrokes are dynamic and layered, blending the figure into the surrounding patterns. This fusion of body and environment evokes the idea that sound—especially ceremonial sound—is immersive. It envelops the listener, dissolving boundaries between self and space. Said’s technique balances control with spontaneity, allowing emotion to guide form.
Hear My Gong is a visual invocation—a call to listen not just with ears, but with heart and memory. It celebrates the power of sound to awaken, to connect, and to transform. Said’s work invites us into a moment of ritual, where the strike of a gong becomes a portal to deeper understanding. It’s a painting that doesn’t just speak—it resounds.