I was first introduced to the work of Chris Ofili a number of years ago, through a video documentary in which he discussed his influences, painting techniques and styles and the ever popular subject of life as a black artist, and life as a black person living and working in Britain. Chris Ofili was born in Manchester in 1968 of Nigerian parents, but moved to London to pursue his artistic education studying first at the Chelsea School of Art and Design and then moving to the Royal College of Art were he completed his master's degree in painting.
Through much of his work Chris Ofili looks at the stereotypes that are placed on black people living in an urban society, whilst through his other, almost stereotypical influences and interests he becomes part of his work and some might say the subject of his own work. .
In 1992 his interest and fascination with his African heritage saw him win a scholarship to travel to Zimbabwe where he saw ancient Matopos dot paintings on cave walls and the traditional body scarring of the Nuba tribe. During this eight week visit he also witnessed the remains of colonisation alongside the natural beauty of the land and its wildlife, leaving him with a mix of emotions both disturbed and inspired. On his return Ofili brought back some elephant dung in his suitcase, later displaying it in street markets both in Berlin and then in London. Insisting that it was not to see if it would sell but just to witness people's reactions and what it would be like as an experience for himself. Little did he know this would be the start of such a successful career.
Walking through the Tate Gallery in Liverpool, Ofili's 1997 painting, "Double Captain Shit and the Legend of the Black Stars", was really the first and only painting, sculpture or instillation that initially caught my eye, and then continued to keep me intrigued and interested. I was first struck by the sheer size of the painting, standing at 2440mm tall and 1830mm wide.
