The first solo exhibition in the UK of work by Georges Adéagbo, this was an installation made in response to the various geographical, historical and social contexts of Ikon whilst carrying the artist’s distinct voice. Inspired partly by Birmingham, informed by radical political observations arising out of Africa’s recent past, also it was a manifestation of the voodoo still practised in Benin where Adeagbo lives and works.
An eclectic artist, Adéagbo scavenges from the cultures and communities he interrogates, combining all sorts of ready-mades in his work. Discarded objects from everyday life, often found in second hand shops, are arranged very deliberately, giving the work a fetishistic connotation. Combined with handwritten texts, the exhibits are whimsical, funny and critical.
Adeagbo’s work is an exploration of social ambition and inequality, the differences between what is mainstream and marginal, personal and political. He draws on the creative gestures of other people, their design and material production, the symbolism of their behaviour and particular ways of seeing.
Supported by The Henry Moore Foundation and Visiting Arts.