BRUSSELS.- For Victor Ehikhamenor, history is a totem of storytelling, traversing time, space, and memory—a theme deeply rooted in his familial traditions. His recounting of the past intricately navigates religious complexities and the fusion of an evolving multicultural environment. A fervent advocate for the repatriation of the long- disputed looted Benin bronzes, the artist sheds light on the realities of reclaiming cultural artefacts. His plastic rosary works poignantly symbolise the displacement of religious motifs when removed from their original context, addressing the complex interplay of beliefs and traditions among colonised peoples while critiquing environmental destruction through the use of non-biodegradable plastic, which represents globalisation and mass production. This theme extends to other areas of his work, including delicately perforated, handmade paper pieces referencing ancient scarification rituals and paintings and immersive installations inspired by sacred spaces in his hometown and the Benin royal palace. Through this body of work, Ehikhamenor illustrates the transformation of past cultural symbols, imbuing them with new meaning and underscoring their enduring universal relevance, which positions him as a global artist.
Victor Ehikhamenor (b. 1970, Udomi-Uwessan, Nigeria) has exhibited at the Nigerian Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale and prestigious venues such as the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, the Fondation Blachère in France, Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. His works are in major collections, including The High Museum of Art, The Onassis Foundation, and The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. He founded the Lagos creative residency ‘Angels and Muse’ and initiated the ‘Ink Not Blood’ peace campaign aimed at preventing election violence. His work has received numerous awards from organisations like the Rockefeller Foundation, Civitella Ranieri Foundation, Nirox Foundation, and the Norman Mailer Center.
Ehikhamenor’s rosaries series, crafted from plastic rosaries, offers a nuanced commentary on colonialism, globalization, and belief systems for people in Africa and the diaspora. These works respond to the religious traditions introduced by colonial powers, which were layered over local customs and structures of authority. The pieces, featuring rosaries sewn onto canvas, depict figures and scenes inspired by the Benin Kingdom and African members of the Catholic elite and clergy. This artistry highlights the complexities of belief and tradition among colonized peoples. The plastic rosaries serve as a symbol of the globalization of mass production, representing not only environmental degradation but also the erosion of localized identities. They effectively illustrate the pervasive influence of globalized belief systems, economies, and power dynamics.
A significant aspect of Victor Ehikhamenor’s work is his ‘perforations’—tiny, uniform holes resembling the miniature, circular marks left by a nail piercing through the paper repeatedly before being pulled away. These perforations create shapes and portraits, using the negative space they carve out to form figures. This approach offers a sculptural, monochromatic twist on the modernist technique of pointillism. The perforations evoke a calculated, methodical violence inflicted on the surface, providing a poignant and visceral commentary on the violence embedded in systems of power and education, and their influence on identity formation.
This artistic practice also references early archaeological evidence of body modification among the Benin peoples, where tattoo and scarification markings date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. The process of scarification in Africa involves making superficial incisions on the skin using stones, glass, knives, or other tools to create meaningful pictures, words, or designs. This tradition expresses clan identity, social status, passage into adulthood, or spiritual significance, further enriching Ehikhamenor’s exploration of identity and cultural narratives.
