Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé (review)

OLADELE AJIBOYE BAMGBOYE Oladele Bamgboye , Spray, 1997, Vi deo Still, 5 mi n. wi t h audi o The London-based Nigerian art ist , Oladele Aj iboye Bamgboye's int eract ive comput er inst allat ion Unmasking, Part 2, at Thomas Erben Gallery in it s new locat ion in Chelsea, is a follow up on an earlier exhibit ion ent it led Unmasking, Part 1, from 1998, in which he observes t he physical mechanics of t he museum, such as t he moving of obj ect s inside t he Brit ish Museum in London. In Unmasking, Part 2, t he art ist also examines t he cont roversial issues of original and copy. The exhibit ion is divided in four part s. Two apparent ly ident ical blueberry color comput ers on st eel st ands f acing each ot her at opposit e sides of t he room, present an immediat e visual response t o t he conf usion bet ween original and copy. Similarit ies in t he design of t he eOne have provoked Apple t o sue eMachines which result ed in t he prohibit ing of t he manufact ure of t he eOne as well as any ot her similar models worldwide . The t wo comput ers represent t he cont roversial debat e bet ween original and copy part icularly seen under propriet y and market ing laws, t heir dist inct ions of hierarchy and ownership. The iMac, being t he original, shows t wo video clips side by side on t he screen. The f irst video clip shown on t he left side, ent it led Unmasking, depict s t wo f oot ages: one consist ing of t he inst it ut ional archiving of t he Yoruba Collect ion of t he Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Canada, 1992, wit h scenes evoking a t echnical aura of t he museum, such as t he placement of art ifact s on shelves and drawers. The ot her clip shows t he relocat ion of t he Egypt ian Collect ion in t he Brit ish Museum in London, 1998, f ocusing on t he physical st ruct ure of t he museum, it s int erior feat ures, it s signs and labels such as "t emporarily removed' or hooks were t he obj ect s were once hung. In t his f oot age t he museum's obj ect s are never shown. On t he right side of t he comput er screen is a video clip depict ing act ivit ies in t he office of t he San Ant onio Museum in Texas, such as t he curat or in t he act ivit y of her work, or t he art ist scanning some of t he museum art ifact s. Here, close-ups of t he obj ect s or t he art ist scanning t hem reveal t he art ist as t he researcher. His involvement wit h t he inst it ut ional and t echnical aspect s of t he museum are ext ended t o his own analyt ical and st ruct ural language. In t his f oot age t he art ist is always present . Besides images, t he audio syst em brings t he viewer t o a closer underst anding of what is t aking place, such as t he t echnical resolut ions of t he curat or, as well as t he dialogues bet ween art ist and curat or. This video emphasizes t he inst it ut ional aspect of t he museum . The eOne, IBM-compat ibl e, clone of t he iMac, displays a select ion of digit al scan imagery of art if act s f rom t he Egypt ian Collect ion of t he San Ant oni o Museum of Art in Texas, f ocusing not onl y on obj ect s' di gi t al process but also on t he fact t hat t he art ifact s chosen were considered unclassif iable by t he museum and...