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BEKELE M EKON N EN Lela Galle r y Addis Ababa, Et hiopia March 1 - March 28, 2008 The crit ical work of Bekele Mekonnen and it s concept ual sophi st i cat i on capt ures t he i magi nat i on and art iculat es modes and pat t erns of t hi nki ng in pr oduci ng al t er nat i ve nar r at i ves t o Et hiopian hist ory. The work ref lect s on t he soci al f act s of Et hiopian moder ni t y, encapsul at i ng moder ni t y's exper i ence and per cept i on. It addr esses • Tired ploughs, pastel on paper, 38X25 cm. • Never say die, pastel on paper, 38X25 cm. Courtesy of the Artist. Upside down, inst allat ion piece, 2007. Mort ar and pestle. Court esy of t he Art ist . serious hi st or i cal i ssues and speaks t o a deep concer n, t o penet rat e and com prehend t he compl ex net works of relat i ons and cul t ur e t hat const i t ut e gender domi nat i on, povert y and t he var i ous ot her i l l s of hi s count r y. Thr oughout his works, Bekele Mekonnen t hus explores t he use of uncanny parodies t o art iculat e t he var i ous f aces of dest r uct i on. Hi s wor k how ever shoul d be seen not i n t erms of t he l ament at ion of povert y and it s consequences , but rat her as t he sympt om of t he uncert aint ies generat ed by new gl obal si t uat i ons. His work shoul d be placed wi t hi n t hi s wide perspect ive. It coul d also be seen as t he per sonal prot est of an abst ract ident it y t hat i s gal vani zed wi t hi n t he power dynami cs of t he world in whi ch he i s l i vi ng. Bor n in 1964, Bekele received his f ormal t r ai ni ng in scul pt ure f rom t he Fine Art s School in Addi s Ababa and Moscow St at e Fine Art s Inst i t ut e of t he f ormer Sovi et Republ ic. He was t he Direct or of t he Fine Ar t School bet w een 2000- 2003. Popular cult ure lies at t he heart of Bekele's anal ysi s where symbol i sm of expression lends it sel f t o Et hi opi an hyperbole as it si mul t aneousl y assert s and subver t s aut horit y. How does one locat e one's posi t i on and represent i t in t he vi sual l anguage whi ch grant s him t he libert y t o t r anscend t he di sci pline of scul pt ure and engage i nt o a di al ogue? This and many more quest i ons become t he art of t hi s art ist in his most recent series of works ent it l ed Chance and Choice. In t hi s exhi bi t i on, Bekel e def i nes t he scul pt ur es and sket ches as "Enquokl i sh, " as a riddle, an anci ent quest i on/ answer game t hat he uses successf ul l y t o locat e t he soci ocul t ur al posi t i on and st ance of Et hiopia and it s people t o pose some essent ial l y non-answer abl e quest i ons. He phrases quest i ons t hr ough each of his exhi bi t s. From t heir perch wi t hi n t he gallery space, each work f ires...

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