b. 1974, Kano, Nigeria
Lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium

Otobong Nkanga's Silent Anchor I (2023) presents a circuitry of hand dyed rope and biomorphic glass forms that she conceives as a spatial cleanser or talisman. Just as a personal amulet is used to protect its wearer against perceived negative forces, Nkanga's sculpture amplifies and extends the concept of energetic intervention beyond the body and into the spatial realm, suggesting a permeable boundary between the two domains.

The internal volume of one glass element is impressed upon so that a recess forms on its surface. This shallow well holds an offering of lavender oil, a substance believed to have healing, soothing and anti-inflammatory properties.

By deploying an organic medium that is both fugitive and formless, and empowering this substance to 'activate' the formal elements of the work, Nkanga invites an anti-monumental dimension into her sculpture, bringing olfactory and energetic qualities into dialogue with the visual and material. In this context, the gradient colouring of the rope suggests a mycelial network in which energies seep, migrate and permeate in an evolving interaction between the work and its environment.

b. 1974, Kano, Nigeria
Lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium

Otobong Nkanga's Silent Anchor I (2023) presents a circuitry of hand dyed rope and biomorphic glass forms that she conceives as a spatial cleanser or talisman. Just as a personal amulet is used to protect its wearer against perceived negative forces, Nkanga's sculpture amplifies and extends the concept of energetic intervention beyond the body and into the spatial realm, suggesting a permeable boundary between the two domains.

The internal volume of one glass element is impressed upon so that a recess forms on its surface. This shallow well holds an offering of lavender oil, a substance believed to have healing, soothing and anti-inflammatory properties.

By deploying an organic medium that is both fugitive and formless, and empowering this substance to 'activate' the formal elements of the work, Nkanga invites an anti-monumental dimension into her sculpture, bringing olfactory and energetic qualities into dialogue with the visual and material. In this context, the gradient colouring of the rope suggests a mycelial network in which energies seep, migrate and permeate in an evolving interaction between the work and its environment.

b. 1974, Kano, Nigeria
Lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium

Otobong Nkanga's Silent Anchor I (2023) presents a circuitry of hand dyed rope and biomorphic glass forms that she conceives as a spatial cleanser or talisman. Just as a personal amulet is used to protect its wearer against perceived negative forces, Nkanga's sculpture amplifies and extends the concept of energetic intervention beyond the body and into the spatial realm, suggesting a permeable boundary between the two domains.

The internal volume of one glass element is impressed upon so that a recess forms on its surface. This shallow well holds an offering of lavender oil, a substance believed to have healing, soothing and anti-inflammatory properties.

By deploying an organic medium that is both fugitive and formless, and empowering this substance to 'activate' the formal elements of the work, Nkanga invites an anti-monumental dimension into her sculpture, bringing olfactory and energetic qualities into dialogue with the visual and material. In this context, the gradient colouring of the rope suggests a mycelial network in which energies seep, migrate and permeate in an evolving interaction between the work and its environment.