23.07. – 03.10.2021.
The restitution of African artworks is the focus of Samson Ogiamien’s exhibition and performance project. The artist, who comes from Benin City and lives in Graz, explores this theme using the example of the “Benin Bronzes.” The Benin Bronzes are a group of several thousand metal plaques and sculptures that adorned the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin since the 16th century. As a result of colonization by the United Kingdom in 1897, they were taken to Europe and the USA as looted art. In Germany alone, there are more than 1000 objects in museums, most of them in Berlin. The Nigerian government has made demands to return the objects.
A sensitive, poetic mirror play of cultures: The performance plays with the different levels of meaning of artworks. These can be contemporary, traditional and ritualistic at the same time. What is meant here are works of art that serve as a link between different cultures, belief systems and worlds. In an extensive parcours the audience is invited to follow an artistic ritual around a magically charged object.
The project is carried out in collaboration with the French theater group Compagnie Onyrikon and was created in cooperation with the festival La Strada.
Samson Ogiamien „Iyagbons Spiegel“
23.07. – 03.10.2021
Termine Performance: 06.+07.08.2021
Neue Galerie Graz
Joanneumsviertel
8010 Graz
www.neuegaleriegraz.at
