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Video of the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: Qanita Lilla
Masquerade

Masquerade

Celebrated Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe speaks about lgbo masquerade as having universal significance because the world dances together. To understand the workings of the world and masquerade, you have to be quick and adaptable. Achebe shows us that the masquerade is not about the masks themselves but about the lessons they teach and the messages they convey.

This installation of traditional West African masks, hoods, face coverings, helmets and crests interprets the African masquerade in Canada. The masks have lived in Canada for more than a hundred years and are not art in the western sense because they come from communities who lived with and danced them, but who also stood in awe of them and treasured them.

Today, the masks stand shoulder to shoulder on the pebbles of Deshkaan Ziibi surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. In museums, masks like these are often labelled with text that seeks to classify and bind them to one specific cultural function. Here we set them free and only their country of origin is written at their feet. In this way, their freedom and vitality are respected.

An installation of African masks encircling pebbles, and behind them the Atlantic Ocean is projected on the wall.
Installation view, Ukutula: Our Timeless Journeys, Museum London, 21 November 2024–22 May 2025. Image © Alex Walker
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nigeria
Côte d'Ivoire
Nigeria
Côte d'Ivoire
Nigeria
Burkina Faso
Côte d'Ivoire; Mali
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire; Bondoukou region
Côte d'Ivoire; Liberia
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Footnotes
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