series of photographs, dimensions variable, 2009
benin/nigeria
The camera trails a guide on a tour through the labyrinthine architectural complex of Ogiamen’s palace in Benin City (Nigeria)
Lost Wax shows artists at work in the traditional brass-casting district in Benin City (Nigeria), using the ancient lost wax technique (cire perdue) and recycled metal from the West to produce metal cast artefacts
These texts are produced from linguistic negative casts in the form of the metal engraving plates which, quite literally, set into relief the darker, historical context and frame for the museum collections.
A roll call of over 500 museums and collectors holding the famous Benin artifcats taken by the British in 1897 during the punitive expedition in Benin City and now dispersed all over the world in major museums