Copyright Chris Ofili Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro, London / Venice

On Display

Chris Ofili (b.1968)

Two Do Voodoo

Ofili studied at the Chelsea School of Art and the Royal College of Art, winning a scholarship to Zimbabwe in 1992. There he saw San cave paintings made up of tiny dots of colour and was also inspired to start using elephant dung in his art. He said the dung was "a way of raising the paintings up from the ground and giving them a feeling that they've come from the earth rather than simply being hung on a wall".

These elements come together in Two do Voodoo with its intricate dot patterns and jarring lumps of excrement. Ofili's work also explores the stereotyping and celebration of black culture, represented here by faces cut out of magazines; a gallery of sports stars, actors and musicians. Hip-hop was another key influence and among the faces used is rapper Snoop Dogg. Ofili won the Turner Prize in 1998 partly in recognition of a major exhibition shown at Southampton Art Gallery.

Mediumacrylic, oil, polyester resin, paper collage, glitter, map pins and elephant dung on linen
Date1997
Dimensions2435mm x 1827mm x 41mm
Acquisition NumberSOTAG : 1998/1
Credit LinePurchased in 1998 with the assistance of the Victoria and Albert Museum/MGC Purchase Grant Fund