Hope with a Backdrop of Desperation - a photo on Flickriver

            Perilous Odyssey of Hope, 2023
Enotie 
Cast in Benin City in the Omolaja foundry
Brass

Inspired by ivory pendant masks from the 1500s associated with Queen Mother Idia, this brass sculpture reflects the rich cultural history of the Benin Kingdom. It also expresses the physical and emotional loss suffered by the Edo people following the British military expedition to Benin City in 1897, when the royal palace and compounds were looted, and the Oba (king) was exiled.
This re-working of what has become an iconic pan-African image highlights the ongoing trauma of that event, linking the historical loss of culture with the contemporary impact of population displacement in Edo State.*
[British Museum]


Desperation in Motion, 2022–3
Enotie 
Acrylic on canvas
London

Enotie chose to explore the theme of migration for this display. Here he illustrates the profound impact of unsafe migration and human trafficking from Africa. Edo State in Nigeria – of which Benin City is the capital – experiences a high rate of undocumented migration often controlled by human trafficking gangs. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable, and frequently face sexual and financial exploitation on the dangerous journeys through the Sahara desert and across the Mediterranean Sea in small boats to Europe.*
[British Museum]


From the exhibition


Perilous Journeys: Reflections on Migration
(Jul – Sep 2023)

This compelling display featured works by contemporary artists from Nigeria and Mexico that reflected on the loss of people and culture through the impact of human trafficking and unsafe migration.
With a specific focus on Edo State in Nigeria, which has recorded an extremely high number of migrants, the display featured works by Enotie Ogbebor, a multi-disciplinary artist based in Benin City. Many migrants have become the target of trafficking gangs, some losing their lives while making journeys across the Sahara and Mediterranean. Enotie created a large-scale painting for this display, inspired by these migrations, which highlighted the personal tragedies involved in human trafficking.
Another of Enotie's works, a recently-cast brass sculpture, drew on iconic images popularly associated with Queen Mother Idia from the historic Kingdom of Benin. It also refered to the British military expedition against Benin City in 1897, the lives lost and the wider associated human tragedy, as well as the looting of objects from the royal palaces. This piece drew attention to the consequent loss of cultural knowledge that Enotie, who is actively engaged in current debates around the repatriation of objects from the Kingdom of Benin, believes has contributed to the current migrant crisis experienced in Edo State. 
Enotie's works here also celebrated the dynamism of artistic activity by young people in Benin City as well as the skills and knowledge of the brass casters who maintain the 500-year-old tradition of lost-wax casting.
These pieces were juxtaposed with a powerful work by Mexican artist Betsabeé Romero, who frequently uses discarded bus tyres as her canvas. Elevated through carved and gilded figures that reflect on controversial responses to migration on the American continent, this installation aimed to represent the humanity and dignity of migrants globally.
[*British Musem]


Taken in the British Museum
   

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Taken on: August 4, 2023

Tags:

04.08.23

London

Bloomsbury

British Museum

Perilous Journeys: Reflections on Migration

Perilous Journeys

Reflections on Migration

Nigeria

Mexico

human trafficking

unsafe migration

Edo State

Enotie Ogbebor

Benin City

trafficking gangs

Sahara

Mediterranean

brass sculpture

Queen Mother Idia

Kingdom of Benin

British military expedition

looting

royal palaces

lost-wax casting

Betsabeé Romero

Perilous Odyssey of Hope

Cast

Omolaja foundry

Brass

ivory pendant masks

Benin Kingdom

Edo people

royal palace

compounds

Oba

king

pan-African

Desperation in Motion

Enotie

Acrylic

canvas

migration

small boats « less

Sets appears in: • Camden • Artworks more » • Galleries & Museums • British Museum « less

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