IDENTITY AND MYSTIFICATION: THE PERFORMING ARTIST AND THE LÁGBAJA SYNDROME

Abstract

The paper addresses the trends in mystification of personal identities by performing artists in a variety of ways such as the adoption of pseudonyms or the use of make-up, masks and special costumes for partial or total physical transformation. After a brief overview of this phenomenon in the worlds of literature and performance, the paper focuses on the mystification of the real identity of Bisade Ologunde by the acquired image of Lágbájá, the representative of the supposedly common man who is at once everybody and nobody in particular. The paper attempts a semiotic analysis of this unusual phenomenon and argues that it is not Lágbájá, but Bisade Ologunde, who turns out to be faceless and essentially 'non-existent', after all. Lágbájá, on the other hand, has acquired a brand new image with full public recognition and acceptance, such that it is now impossible for Bisade Ologunde to perform in his place. The implications of the Lágbájá phenomenon for artistic replication and perpetuation, far beyond the capacity of the physical stage actor, are explored and commented upon, with a whole lot of creative possibilities.