Peek inside Okongwu's super-sized sculptures and you'll find a surprise.
Bananas may never look the same after you see Jebila Okongwu’s exhibition at Baert Gallery. The Nigerian British artist’s sculptures and paintings of banana boxes use the language of Pop Art to comment on exoticism and the legacies of the slave trade, with varying degrees of success.. Okongwu’s banana boxes faithfully reproduce the bright, clean lines of commercial packaging down to holes for ventilation and handholds.
On closer inspection, they are in fact people-sized. What appears to be a stack is actually one continuous volume, large enough inside for a person or two. Peering through the holes, we see gear associated withroleplay. One stack contains a black hammock suspended from shiny silver chains. The other encloses a metal cage, sized for a small animal or a person on all fours.
Given the bright, sunny graphics on the exterior, the bondage equipment is intended as a contrast. Although BDSM is a consensual practice, Okongwu seems to use it here to suggest nonconsensual human trafficking and, historically, the slave trade, whose routes between Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas are retraced by the banana industry. The sculptures intend to suggest how the dark history of these routes has been papered over with cheery graphics of palm trees and fruit.
Inside detail of “Five Banana Boxes” by Jebila Okongwu, 2018, on view at Baert Gallery in Los Angeles.However, the blurring of the line between consensual BDSM cultures and slavery is problematic. BDSM is essentially an erotic practice that absorbs and transforms the horrors of imperialism and slavery; it is not itself an example of dehumanization and abuse. By hiding it like a secret inside the banana boxes, Okongwu confuses and blunts his own critique.
He’s better served by his paintings, which depict sections of banana box graphics draped with loops of rusty chain.In “Alba Bananas,” the chains interrupt a sunny tropical landscape. In “Product of Cameroon ,” they overlay a list of the contents of a box, reminding us of the ways in which human bodies were turned into commodities and accounted for as ledger items. These simple juxtapositions are quietly powerful and more effective than their less focused sculptural counterparts.
Deutschland Neuesten Nachrichten, Deutschland Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
11 Banana Republic Coats That Will Actually Make You Excited For WinterBanana Republic has tons of coats this season that are both affordable and adorable.
Weiterlesen »
11 Banana Republic Coats That Will Actually Make You Excited For WinterBanana Republic has tons of coats this season that are both affordable and adorable.
Weiterlesen »
Opinion | Bill Barr ‘Gets’ ReligionFrom WSJopinion: Attorney General Bill Barr gave a speech on militant secularism, and the left’s reaction proved his point, writes wjmcgurn
Weiterlesen »
Fort Worth, Texas, police officer who fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson resignsThe resignation came hours before the department intended to terminate Officer Aaron Dean's employment.
Weiterlesen »
Pharrell Says ‘Blurred Lines’ Controversy Educated Him About Sexism“I realized that we live in a chauvinist culture in our country,” artist-producer tells GQ
Weiterlesen »
Angelina Jolie Has the Secret to a Perfect Red Lip For Party SeasonAccording to her makeup artist Matin, Angelina Jolie’s recent statement lip hinged on these three things:
Weiterlesen »