Sensuous Steel

Sokari Douglas Camp (British Nigerian sculptor)

“Drawing from her Kalabari heritage and the history of European art, she creates pieces that address socio-political issues and the history of the African Diaspora.” (Quote from the V&A Museum). My talk will highlight the environmental situation in the Niger Delta, and the life of black people in the diaspora. I will focus on some of the inspirational historical artists that I have used in my work. ‘Green Leaf Barrel’, ‘Europe supported by Africa and America’, images inspired by William Blake and Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’. My project for the last decade ‘All the world is now richer’ is a commemorative sculpture to the Abolition of slavery; a historical issue that is a challenge to address and this piece educates and shows positivity. My work ties in with postcolonial memory, contemporary commutations and heritage politics. In the studio these things happen intuitively.

Sokari Douglas Camp studied Fine Art at Central School of Art and Design and at the Royal College of Art. Sokari has represented Britain and Nigeria in National and International exhibitions, she has had over 40 solo shows in venues such as the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institute and The Museum of Mankind London. Sokari was shortlisted for the Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth 2003. Her public artworks Battle Bus: Living Memorial for Ken Saro‐Wiwa, 2006, is monument to the writer and Niger Delta activist. Douglas Camp’s third solo exhibition at October Gallery in 2022, Jonkonnu Masquerade, included a series of new works exploring the masquerade of ‘Jonkonnu’ both within its Caribbean context and that of the broader African diaspora. Two larger-than-life-sized steel interlinking sculptures, Tussling Jonkonnu, was part of the Kensington and Chelsea Art Week, 2022. From June 2022 to May 2023, Douglas Camp’s work has been at the V&A as part of the Africa Fashion exhibition. In 2005 she was awarded a CBE. She is an honorary Fellow of the University of the Arts London and of SOAS.

If you would like to obtain more information on this guest lecture or attend the talk, please contact Christiane Schlote.

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