Patience on a Monument (review)

In March of 2015, polymedia artist Eto Otitigbe participated in a performance conceived by Wideman/Davis Dance (a dance duo of principal dancers Tanya Wideman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis). That performance—which grew out of Otitigbe’s solo exhibition “Ruptured Silence” presented by 701 CCA (Center for Contemporary Arts) in Columbia, South Carolina, that same month—examined contemporary reactions to racist signs and symbols in public spaces. The exhibition featured a series of sculptures and experimental drawings that were substitutive representations of familiar themes and objects. While in residence at 701 CCA, Otitigbe collaborated with Wideman/Davis to develop the first iteration of “Ruptured Silence: Racist Symbols and Signs,” a media performance installation that explored the deconstruction of the Southern civil rights memento, the Confederate flag.

From his work with Wideman/Davis and on the merit of his exhibition at 701 CCA, Otitigbe was chosen as the Elizabeth M. Marion Visiting Artist at the University of South Carolina (USC) later that year. As a visiting artist, Otitigbe researched and presented materials on human and land interaction, public sculpture, monuments, and of course, his practice. In December of 2015, Otitigbe, in collaboration with Wideman/Davis Dance, (re)presented “Ruptured Silence: Racist Symbolism and Signs” as a response to the murder of nine people at South Carolina’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and the subsequent removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina State House grounds.

In January 2016, now consumed with the notion of monuments, Otitigbe traveled to Egypt as a part of a cultural exchange project with CEC ArtsLink. There, he spent three weeks in Aswan, a busy market and tourist center located in the south of Egypt, just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile River. The Aswan Dam has been and continues to be a controversial construction project. While the dam is credited with providing resources for irrigation, clean power (hydroelectric), and flood control, the dam actually flooded a large area, causing the relocation of over 100,000 Nubian inhabitants. Many archaeological sites, such as Abu Simbel, were submerged, while others were relocated. The dam is blamed for drying up the Nile (the largest, most powerful river in the world), coastline erosion, soil salinity, and health problems (schistosomiasis and bilharzias being the most apparent). While in Aswan, Otitigbe traveled along the Nile observing and recording natural rock formations and the impact of human interaction.

Fig 1.

“Patience on a Monument” exhibition space, 2016

Fig 2.

Eto Otitigbe

Yielding and Agreeable (2016)

Valchromat, treated aluminum plate and digital print on archival metallic satin paper; 91.4 cm × 91.4 cm × 60.8 cm

all photos: courtesy of Cindy Elizabeth Photography/Media

All of this brings us to “Patience on a Monument” at the New Gallery at the University of Texas at Austin—an exhibition that seeks to open a dialogue about the ways in which humans engage with monuments and other public sculpture. The displacements, journeys, and extensive international networks established by the artist are important to understand the significance of “Patience on a Monument.” The exhibition of nine new works by Otitigbe (Fig. 1) demonstrates the artist’s continuing inquiry into issues of race, monuments, technology, politics, and human interaction. Myron M. Beasley, associate professor of African American Studies and American Cultural Studies at Bates College and “Patience on a Monument” curator, notes that Otitigbe’s work “acknowledge[s] the complex interplay between public memorializing, history, and everyday life” and “asks viewers to question how monuments invite audiences to participate in the memory and retelling of significant moments.”¹

Fig 3.

Eto Otitigbe

Forced Away and Exposed (2016)

Valchromat and 32 inch flat screen monitor with looping video; 114.3 cm × 25.4 cm × 25.4 cm

Breaking from the traditional hierarchal arrangement of sculpture exhibitions, the works that form “Patience on Monument” are organized thematically, allowing for a comprehensive...