Chris Ofili

 
British artist Chris Ofili (b. 1968) was a part of the controversial 1990s YBA/Young British Artists. Ofili explores a wide range of topics from biblical themes and black culture to explicit sensuality and pornographic imagery. Ofili is however probably best known for his performances, sculptures and paintings containing or being displayed on lumps of elephant dung. In what could be called a naive and decorative style, Ofili challenges the idea of a Carribean or African Paradise. With silver, golden leafs, resin and glitter he attracts and emphasizes our expectations of Black culture. Chris Ofili himself is of Nigerian descent, and his interest in black stereotypes and interfaces between cultural traditions of Africa and the West is evident throughout his work.

In 2009 Chris Ofili visited Edition Copenhagen and made his first ever lithograph Ritual and Desire. As the title suggests the work has a religious iconography - three bearded men are sitting below a tree, each swinging a twig and worshipping a figure in the tree, casting light down on the men. The lithograph is carried out in a traditional way using crayon, classical air-brush and ink to create large areas of beautiful washes.