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World renowned Nigerian-American artist Victor Ekpuk, famous for his glyph-like paintings and drawing, inspired by the aesthetics of indigenous African writing systems, has made his first mark in the Middle East with a 5.4m tall sculpture in the busy Diplomatic Area of Bahrain.
Victor, a Smithsonian Institute fellow, has had his work featured in numerous renowned galleries in New York, Los Angeles and London, and has been commissioned for display in museums and as the book covers by renowned authors like Chinua Achebe.
His piece in Bahrain, an abstract construct, The Face reminds one of a glyph symbols and can be seen outside the newly renovated Bank ABC headquarters in Diplomatic Area.
Victor commented: “I did some research about the culture of Bahrain and the Dilmun civilisation. It was interesting uncovering some of the layers of history and I wanted to show this in the glyph. I wanted to show the layers of Bahraini history, its contemporary but timeless face and that’s how we came up with The Face.”
The sculpture was first showcased during Bank ABC’s digital bank ila Bank’s soft launch and at the meet-and-greet last week, Victor discussed his piece with members of the local art community and Bank ABC staff.
Each person perceived it differently, many seeing the familiar Arab head dress, some seeing the ila Bank’s logo within it and a few even seeing a pulsing heart beat at its centre.
Bank ABC’s group chief executive Dr Khaled Kawan said: “I first saw Victor’s work in New York and I instantly fell in love. So we invited him to submit a proposal for our new centrepiece. This unique and majestic art piece, fabricated in Bahrain within five weeks, cleverly connects our heritage and future aspirations. The Face will outlive business cycles and remain an eternal tribute to Bahrain and its people.”
