Sokari Douglas Camp
In this short video, Sokari Douglas Camp briefs us on many of her recent works, including works from her Purge series and her 2005 Accessories, inside her studio. Note how large her pieces are when she stands next to them.
Short Biography
Sokari Douglas Camp was born in Nigeria in 1958 and was raised in the Kalbari culture of the Niger Delta region. Although studying painting for a brief period, Sokari finally settled on sculpture. She attended numerous art academies, including the California College of Arts and Crafts, the Central School of Art and Design, and the Royal College of Art. Sokari works primarily in metals like steel, drawing inspiration from her background, her current life in London, and current events of the western and African worlds. Her pieces are large scale three-dimensional sculptures, sometimes of figures with moving parts and/or sound.
Awards/Achievements
Awards/Achievements
- work in the permanent collections at The Smithsonian Museum
- 2012: All the Worth is Now Richer exhibited in The House of Commons, also exhibited in St. Paul's Cathedral in 2014
- 2005: awarded CBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire)
- 2003: shortlisted for the Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth
Sokari Douglas Camp's Role in African Art History
Working in an unusual medium, metal, Sokari offers highly tangible works, ones that dominate space and allow for the viewer to really take in the message. Her position as a world-renowned female artist also brings attention to gender imbalance in not only African art but world art in general; Sokari is one of only a few African woman to have a portrait in London's National Portrait Gallery.
Many of her sculptures deal with both African and global issues, such as her works Accessories (2005) and Europe Supported by Africa and America (2015). She often deals with global issues, like globalization of culture and art, world power, warfare, and famine while also incorporating issues central to modern Nigeria, like the oil trade, traditional culture, and the modernity of the country. Through the medium of welded metals, Sokari offers a highly modern take on global and Nigerian issues, allowing for cross-cultural conversation that has opened up her world to others.
Possible tags: Nigeria, metal sculpture, woman artist, oil industry, modernization
Sokari Douglas Camp. Wordpress, 2015. Web.
Wood Green Films. "Sokari." YouTube. 3 Nov. 2011. Web.
Wright, Karen. "Sokari Douglas Camp, Sculptor: 'I Was Not Good at Painting so I Tried Sculpture, as I Like Putting My Hand in My Work.'" The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 16 Apr. 2015. Web.
Many of her sculptures deal with both African and global issues, such as her works Accessories (2005) and Europe Supported by Africa and America (2015). She often deals with global issues, like globalization of culture and art, world power, warfare, and famine while also incorporating issues central to modern Nigeria, like the oil trade, traditional culture, and the modernity of the country. Through the medium of welded metals, Sokari offers a highly modern take on global and Nigerian issues, allowing for cross-cultural conversation that has opened up her world to others.
Possible tags: Nigeria, metal sculpture, woman artist, oil industry, modernization
Sokari Douglas Camp. Wordpress, 2015. Web.
Wood Green Films. "Sokari." YouTube. 3 Nov. 2011. Web.
Wright, Karen. "Sokari Douglas Camp, Sculptor: 'I Was Not Good at Painting so I Tried Sculpture, as I Like Putting My Hand in My Work.'" The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 16 Apr. 2015. Web.