Ehikhamenor’s Rosaries works, created using plastic rosaries as the core medium, form a complex commentary on colonialism, globalization, and systems of belief for people in Africa and in the diaspora around the world …
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Responding to religious traditions brought in by colonial powers and overlaid on top of local traditions and power structures, the pieces, constructed of rosaries sewn onto canvas, form figures and scenes referencing figures and forms from the Benin Kingdom and African members of the catholic elite and clergymen, commenting on the complexity of belief and tradition among colonized peoples. The plastic rosaries, an inexpensive example of the globalization of mass production that brings environmental destruction and erodes a more localized sense of identity, provide a powerful vehicle for commenting on the border effect of globalized belief systems, economies, and power structures.