Pastel on paper
23 × 16 inches
2026
ABOUT THE PIECE
A Letter to God is part of The Lord’s Prayer Project, a body of work exploring yearning, longing, desire, and the ways these emotions shape faith during moments of suffering and loss.
The work considers the intimate relationship between human desire and spiritual endurance. In moments of uncertainty, loss, and longing, faith can become a space where we express what we cannot hold or understand. A letter becomes both a confession and a form of prayer, reaching toward something beyond the physical.
Through the work, Ismail reflects on how longing can reshape our understanding of faith, transforming prayer into a language of desire, hope, questioning, and endurance.
Detail view of A Letter to God highlighting the carrier pigeon and folded message.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ganiu Ismail is a Lagos-based artist whose practice explores memory, spirituality, identity, loss, longing, and the human experience. Working across painting, pastel, textile, and installation, he draws from Yoruba culture, Islamic spirituality, and personal experiences.
His work often uses materials such as Aṣọ Òkè as living archives to explore themes that shape human coexistence. Through quiet and melancholic imagery, Ismail reflects on life, death, hope, suffering, and the relationship between the physical and spiritual worlds.