Victor Ehikhamenor has developed a multifaceted practice that encompasses painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, installation, as well as unique perforated works on paper. His native region, Edo State, mostly known for its capital Benin City, was the most important settlement of the Edo Kingdom of Benin (between the thirteenth and nineteenth centuries) before it was destroyed in 1897 by British colonial settlers. Many sculptures in the Benin City palace, collectively termed the Benin Bronzes, were stolen by British colonizers in an incident which remains at the centre of restitution discourse. Inhabited by a quest for justice and reparation from the social and political wounds of colonialism and neocolonialism, Ehikhamenor’s work has embraced the sacred and the spiritual as central themes in his Rosaries series (2017–22). The artworks, created with rosaries sewn onto canvas, address the interaction between religious traditions introduced by colonial powers and the existing local customs and power structures. These pieces depict figures and scenes inspired by the Benin Kingdom as well as Nigerian Catholic clergy. Through this, the artist explores religious syncretism as well as the intricate interplay of spirituality and tradition among colonized communities. His immersive installations, among them Wealth of Nations: Ogoni Nine (2015) and the newly commissioned work The Penance Room (2024), feature a patchwork of colours and patterns revealing faces, objects, and abstract writing systems that continue the ongoing visual tradition of his hometown, in which the viewer is submerged into a multitude of narratives. The overwhelming and hypnotic space puts forth a metaphor about the impossibility of measuring the depth of colonial impact.

The Penance Room (2024) is commissioned by Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), co-produced by Victor Ehikhamenor and HKW, 2024

Works in the exhibition: The Holy King from the Sky (2021), rosary beads and thread on lace textile with bronze statuette on lace textile, 393.7 × 223.5 cm. Courtesy of MARUANI MERCIER Gallery; The Penance Room (2024), installation, confessional booth, two mannequins, clothing, acrylic paint on wall, dimensions vary. Courtesy of the artist