Europe supported by Africa and America 2015, Sokari Douglas Camp
7th April – 14th May 2016
October Gallery, WC1N 3AL
You can see the work of internationally renowned sculptor and Central School of Art and Design graduate, Sokari Douglas Camp at her new exhibition Primavera at the October Gallery in London.
Sokari Douglas Camp creates her works primarily in steel. Her often large-scale sculptures make frequent reference to her Nigerian roots, at the same time, encompassing contemporary international issues. Douglas Camp studied fine art at the Central School of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art. She has represented Britain and Nigeria in a number of exhibitions and has had more than 40 solo shows worldwide. Her work is in the permanent collections of the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C.; Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo and the British Museum, London.
Primavera brings together major new sculptures which focus on the reinterpretation of familiar figures from the European classical tradition. The large work Europe supported by Africa and America, recreates and adapts an 18th century engraving by William Blake. This intricate composition features three female figures touching and supporting each other, dressed in contemporary clothing remnant of high fashion in Nigeria. The central figure holds a long wreath which grows into a fuel hose – the whole composition offers a wry commentary on social issues and their ramifications for wider environmental concerns. Other works reconfigure detailed scenes adapted from well-known Botticelli paintings, in which the instantly recognisable figures metamorphose into more modern icons of contemporary culture and society.
Douglas Camp is one of the winners of the memorial for Ken Saro-Wiwa in London, and was one of the shortlisted artists for the Fourth Plinth in 2003. She collaborated with Ground Force to create an African Garden for the British Museum, as part of Africa ‘05. In 2005, she was awarded a CBE in recognition of her services to art. Her critically acclaimed work Battle Bus travelled to Nigeria last year as part of Action Saro-Wiwa, a campaign to clean up the Niger Delta, eliciting nationwide support after having been held by local government officials.
UAL alumni are exclusively invited to the private view on 6 April, from 6pm. To RSVP please email press@octobergallery.co.uk.