Romuald Hazoumè

From the Republic of Benin, Romuald Hazoumè is one of Africa’s leading contemporary artists. Humorous and wryly political, his work engages deeply with local and international history to deliver incisive social commentary. In sculpture, installation, photography and video he uses, as a potent metaphor for all forms of slavery, imagery of the black plastic jerry cans used widely for transporting black-market petrol from Nigeria and worked to breaking point before being discarded. This survey of his wide-ranging practice also includes painting and simple yet strikingly evocative ‘mask’ works, which, made from discarded plastic containers, subtly reveal Hazoumè’s critical vision.