Publisher's Synopsis
Ekué Woekedje Meschac Gaba (* 1961 in Cotonou, Benin) addresses major socio-political questions— such as the contemporary effects of colonialism within a system of globalization—with surprising lightness. A central motif in his work is the banknote. Manipulated bills symbolize an abstract currency system that makes fanciful decisions regarding social exclusion and integration. Defying the arbitrary mechanisms of the market and the Eurocentric thinking of the international art world, the artist puts African art at center stage. His Museum of Contemporary African Art (1997-2002), for instance, is a laboratory where the collective effects of the market are not only made visible but can also be changed. Icons of western culture enter into a creative dialogue with historical figures from the African tradition. Exhibition: Deutsche Bank KunstHalle, Berlin 20.9.-16.11.2014.
