Zak Ové is a multi-disciplinary artist working in film, sculpture and photography to reclaim old world mythologies in new world source materials and technologies. His fascination with the interplay between antiquity and the future is inspired by masking rituals and traditions of Trinidadian carnival that is itself rooted in a struggle for emancipation. Ové’s work is in celebration of the power of play, the juxtaposition of parody and sacred ritual and the blurring of edges between reality and fantasy, flesh and spirit. His use of non-traditional materials: copper, wood, Victoriana and other found materials, situates the work in the metropoles of Europe and the Americas where they merge and mutate into endless possibilities and unexpected identities.
For the first time in its history the British Museum is putting on permanent display the work of a Caribbean sculptor in its African collection.
Zak Ove – drawing heavily on his own Trinidadian Irish heritage, has tackled the story of slavery by viewing it through the traditional Island Carnival, an exuberant annual parade that weaves together the story of slavery, rebellion and eventual liberation.
1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Somerset House, London
Modern Forms
Zak Ové interviewed by Nick Hackworth, 2016