He started using the rosary in his studio practice in 2017, to raise questions around what is a religious item and what is art, what is held sacred and what is stigmatised as demonic.
“Our art has been demonised for so long. So, now, my thing is: if you see a work that is made from the rosary, are you going to say it’s demonic?
“The Edo artist has always dwelled on duality; this world, the other one; past and present.”
Ehikhamenor is one of the leading voices in the clamour for the repatriation of looted art, but he shies away from the activist label, insisting that: “When you’re asking for your father’s patrimony, you’re not an activist; you’re just asking for what belongs to you.”
Still Standing was created in this vein.
On display in a building this is at the heart of the British establishment, it is not a lecture, nor is it forcing any particular stance on people.
But the radiance of the piece commands attention, challenging the viewer to take another look at a historical episode, and consider the continuing impact of the destruction of the ancient Benin Kingdom.
For Ehikhamenor, the past should always be up for review.
“History is constantly changing. In as much as people like to think that history is fixed, history is a constantly moving train.”
