Steve Bandoma
57 1/8 x 41 3/8 x 2 in
Costumes Series:
The Costumes Series depicts Africans dressed either in the clothes of a ruling class or in traditional religious garb. In 'the Jihadist' I depict a man garbed in the elegant, sober costume as required by his religion. However, his posture and his accoutrements are not those of a normal, modest man.
This series concerns an unprecedented loss of cultural identity on our continent often with disastrous consequences. Beneath the costume remains the man, but has his real persona been lost? Has this African consumed another?
In 'The Emotional King ( Roi Emotif )' I consider how an African leader differs from an occidental one. The African is more emotional, less rational, despite pretending otherwise, hence the depiction of his organs being on the outside of his head. He is dressed in colonial-style clothes, but his nature cannot be disguised.