Feature: Exhibition - Chris Ofili's dung paintings at Tate Britain
Published: 4 February 2010
by JOSH LOEB
CHRIS Ofili achieved international recognition in the mid-1990s when his richly ornamented and exuberantly coloured works, which draw on influences ranging from blaxploitation movies to Zimbabwean cave paintings, were exhibited as part of the Sensation exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art and elsewhere.
The artist, who is of Nigerian descent, was born in Manchester in 1968 and is now based in Trinidad.
He graduated from the Chelsea School of Art and Design in 1991 and the Royal College of Art in 1993, has won the Turner prize and represented Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2003.
The major survey of his work currently at Tate Britain, curated by Judith Nesbitt, includes such signature pieces as The Holy Virgin Mary (1996) and Blossom (1997) – paintings famous for their use of unusual media, most notably balls of elephant dung.
No Woman, No Cry (1998), reproduced here, was created partly in response to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.
A warmly coloured portrait, it further highlights Ofili’s use of unusual materials. As well as elephant dung, the artist has used map pins, glitter, acrylic, oil, polyester resin, pencil and paper collage.
Another highlight of Tate Britain’s exhibition is The Upper Room – a darkened room containing 13 canvases depicting rhesus macaque monkeys.
JOSH LOEB
• Chris Ofili supported by Louis Vuitton and Guaranty Trust Bank with additional support from the Chris Ofili Exhibition Supporters Group is at Tate Britain, level two galleries, until May 16. Admission £10 (£8.50 concs). Open daily 10am-5.50pm and until 10pm on the first Friday of every month. For tickets call 020 7887 8888
or go to www.tate.org.uk/tickets