This project seeks to investigate statues and monument as a symbol of memory in post-colonial African cities.
Statues began to appear in Public spaces on the African continent when the colonial masters began to scramble for spaces on the continent. They used them to mark their territory and immortalize themselves. Post colonialism saw African leaders imbibed this culture and began erecting statues of themselves in public spaces.
As the project developed, the need to investigate monuments became urgent. The connection between statues and monuments became glaring. Statues represents people while monuments represent a certain event in the history of a space. In the course of my research, i discovered their connection with Power, time and space.
In pre-colonial Africa, among the Igbo tribe in eastern Nigeria where I happen to come from, people were immortalized by masquerades. They make a specific costume every year and have someone wear it dancing around the village square to mark a celebration that reminds them of a certain person who lived in a certain time.
In Yoruba culture we have the Egungun masqurade which has spread into other parts of West Africa. One may argue about statues being in Africa long before colonialism. Yes they were statues in the Benin Kingdom when the Portuguese came. They were made specifically for the King and in the confines of his palace.
Nowadays, a lot of things have changed, they just erect a statue of such person in a public space or dedicate a monument in their honor. It is really interesting how these statues and monuments are shaping public spaces on the continent and being used to preserve culture.
As much as these monuments are used to preserve culture, this project seeks to reimagine postcolonial Africa and who should be honored considering the fact that most of the statues hanging in public spaces are of powerful people who were slave merchants.
This project is inspired by the past and made for the future, it also seeks to explore memory in the present, whom it belongs to, and who should be remembered in our spaces.
The equestrian statue of Queen Amina, warrior of Zazzau present day Zaria behind the National theatre another National monument and one of the symbols of Lagos
Madam Efunroye Tinunbu was a wealthy woman who was part of the slave trade during her lifetime. Here her statue is erected in Tinunbu square, a square named after her Family in Lagos Nigeria
Herbert Macauley fought for Nigeria’s Independence and is known as Nigeria’s Father of Nationalism, here his statue is erected in the heart of Lagos Island.
The African renaissance monument was constructed in 2010 to mark 50 years of Senegalese Independence from France, it features an African Family emerging from a volcano.
The statue of Demba and Dupont, soldiers who fought for France during the world war is erected at the ancien marche Malien in Dakar Senegal
The monument of independence in Bamako Mali was constructed in 1995 as a symbol of Malian Independence.
The monument of black soldiers of the resistance in Bamako Mali in honor of the black soldiers who fought for France. Monument was constructed in 1923
The Akwaba Monument welcomes visitors to Abidjan
imageedit_13_5740379773
The statue of King Addo the very first crown prince of Lagos sits gracefully in Lagos Island.
The statue of Kwame Nkurumah the first president of the republic of Ghana, a pan Africanist and an icon of black civilization is erected in Bamako Mali in his honor.
imageedit_17_3268103487
imageedit_19_6118785665
imageedit_20_5231716168
