Ben Enwonwu is recognised as a pioneer of the second phase of Nigerian Modernism (1930–1960), an era characterised by anti- Europeanisation and radical anti-colonialism. The Dancer (1962) returns to the theme of the African masquerade that traverses and suffuses the artist’s oeuvre. Enwonwu celebrates the Igbo performance honouring unwed girls and ancestors, the Agbogho Mmuo, which manifests a Maiden Spirit figure. Performed by men, Enwonwu captures the multiplicity and elusiveness of the Agbogho Mmuo; mobile, transfigured, and indeterminate, caught mid- flight, with an effusive headdress of multicoloured bouncing plumes, speckled with the daintiest softest down that lightly frames the spirit- carrier’s chalked face. Enwonwu captures the Agbogho Mmuo mid- pose – arms, legs, and hands stretched in momentary pose – suspended against a background of impressionistic blue brushwork, employed to dynamic effect. The clashing sweeping tones accentuate the dazzling dancer, calling the eye to a body densely covered in rich pattern and abounding with carnivalesque takings and accessories.
This is the first time the work of Ben Enwonwu is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Nancy Danta
