Victor Ehikhamenor (Nigerian, born 1970) Oba Ovoramwen: Before and After, 2014-2016 325 x 98 x 98cm (127 15/16 x 38 9/16 x 38 9/16in) (in two pieces) ((cloth/wood top piece is removable))
Procedencia : Provenance Gallery of African Art, London;A private collection. Exhibited London, 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, (October 2016). Famous for his vibrant and visually striking works as seen in the present lot, Victor Ehikhamenor engages post-colonial politics along with African cultural heritage to formulate multidisciplinary works of African people and places. Ehikhamenor was born in a small Edo State called Udomi-Uwessan, the Benin kingdom famous for its historical bronzes. From a family of creatives, as his grandmother was a weaver and mother was also an artist, Ehikhamenor has credited his upbringing and community in inspiring him to pursue his artistic career, not only in painting, sculpture, and instillation, but also writing and photography. Ehikhamenor would go on to pursue further education in the United States before returning to Lagos in 2008. The artist's contextual upbringing in central to the present work. Oba Ovoramwen: Before And After (2014-16) is an impactful installation both in size and aesthetic that was showcased at the 2016 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London. This work is a monumental representation of the atrocities of the invasion of the Benin Empire. Following the invasion, the Benin King Ovoramwen was exiled to Calabar in the South-East of Nigeria. 'This is a representation of that King being sent to exile,' says Ehikhamenor. 'I'm referencing politics, colonialism and human injustice.' Thematically, the imagery of Oba Ovoramwen is a current point of reference for Victor Ehikhamenor. In a more recent work commissioned by St Paul's Cathedral in London, Still Standing employed a mixed media of rosary beads of varying colours to depict the Oba. This work as part of the 50 Monuments in 50 Voices launched on 1st December 2021 which called on artists to respond to the Cathedral's monuments from 1796 to 1916. The work that Ehikhamenor chose to respond to was a brass memorial panel dedicated to the Commander of the Benin Expedition, Admiral Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson (1843-1910), which is installed in the crypt. Ehikhamenor creates a memorial space for Oba Ovoramwen and the anonymous citizens who died during the sacking of the Benin Kingdom. Much in the same way as Still Standing, Oba Ovoramwen: Before and After commemorates the lives lost in 1897 and also brings to light the continuing issues of the fall out of the invasion, 125 years later. This work is symptomatic of Ehikhamenor's practice, philosophy, and motivation and is a fantastic example of the importance of historical and political narrative within art. Painted on the cloth of the present work are highly abstracted symbols resembling faces that are also reminiscent of an ancient script of the Benin Kingdom, whereby marks and symbols would be inscribed onto walls to communicate what could be found within the space that they were painted upon. This technique is often used by the artist in his installation pieces and synthesises the significance of historical narratives within a contemporary context. Stitched to the cloth at the lower edge of the work are a few small Benin pendant masks. Core to the cultural identity of Nigeria, the imagery of these masks was used on Naira banknotes in 1973 and the pan-Africanist FESTAC 77 cultural festival in 1977. With a focus on the reclaim of his heritage from colonial narratives, Ehikhamenor's work has also been known for being politically motivated, commenting on the duality of Western interruption into African history. Quoted in The Guardian in an article on 'The Benin bronzes', Ehikhamenor recalls the first time seeing a Benin Bronzes in London 'It was overwhelming... 1897 was an economic war against us too. And it's still on-going today'. Ehikhamenor is commenting of the financial gain that holding the looted Benin Bronzes generates, justif...
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Notas : This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: TP
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