Vindicta 001
This series of laser engravings on backlit household mirrors depicting masks from the Kru ethnic group (Ivory Coast/Liberia) was shown at Gentle Battle, a solo exhibition by Christelle Oyiri that explores the issue of war in the political context of the Ivory Coast. In Vindicta, the artist becomes the archivist of an individual and collective memory through these ghostly masks which sometimes presenting ancestors as benevolent phantoms. However, this attitude does not exclude resentment, particularly the spirit of revenge suggested by the title, with a critique of the pillaging of colonisation. African masks, the victims of a simplistic caricatural vision by twentieth-century artists such as Pablo Picasso, may also be seen as reflecting the current controversy over the restitution of works of art.
Text written by Chiara Perez as part of the partnership between the École du Louvre and Lafayette Anticipations – Fonds de dotation Famille Moulin.
Exhibition
Tramway, Glasgow (Écosse)
from 30 Apr to 14 Aug 2022