Chris offilli, no woman no cry

Question 1

date

Answer 1

1998

Question 2

mixed media

Answer 2

oil paint

acrilyc paint

phosphorescent paint

graphite

polyester resin

printed paper

glitter

map pins

elephant dung

Question 3

location

Answer 3

Tate

Question 4

measurement

Answer 4

243.8 x 182.8 cm

large scale

Question 5

chris ofilli heritage

Answer 5

Nigerian heritage

Question 6

what is chris ofilli known for in his art

Answer 6

*The painter Chris Ofili is well known for his references to his Nigerian heritage, his highly decorative style and his playful exploration of black cultural identity

considers his work a serious reflection of his upbringing. Born in Manchester, he was reared as a Roman Catholic by parents who came from Nigeria and whose first language was Yoruba. When he was 24 he won a scholarship to travel and paint in Zimbabwe.

Question 7

chris offilli childhood/ upbringing

Answer 7

Born in Manchester

Had strictly roman catholic parents who came from Nigeria and whose first language was Yoruba

When he was 24 he won a scholarship to travel and paint in Zimbabwe.

Question 8

how does chris ofilli play with sterotypes of blackness in his art

Answer 8

*His work offers an experimental enquiry into his sense of ‘blackness’ in a white dominated art world. He has always played with stereotypes of ‘blackness’.

*He demonstrates an awareness of ethnic categorisation, which expects a black artist to paint in a certain style.

Question 9

where was ofilli living during the creation of this work

Answer 9

London

Question 10

who is the subject of this work

Answer 10

*The phosphorescent inscription in the painting indicates the crying woman depicted is Doreen Lawrence or a representation of Doreen Lawrence, the mother of Stephen Lawrence who was murdered as a teenage boy in a racially motivated attack in London in 1993.

*It is a tribute to the London teenager, but as well as this specific reference, the artist intended the painting to be read as a universal portrayal of melancholy and grief for the suffering of black people across history

Question 11

significance of title

Answer 11

*The title of this work is also the name of a 1974 song by the Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley that entreats a female listener not to be sad. In fact, the words ‘No Woman No Cry’ are picked out in coloured pins stuck into balls of elephant dung at the painting’s feet.

Question 12

critical quote on how ofilli was moved by doreen lawrence’s story

Answer 12

“Ofili was deeply moved by the way in which Doreen Lawrence’s overwhelming silent grief at her son’s tragic death had been transformed with each successive interview as she became even stronger in spirit and emboldened to speak with great dignity” (Judith Nesbitt, curator)

Question 13

what was ofilli’s experience in Zimbabwe

Answer 13

-A research trip to Zimbabwe in 1992 reconnected him to his african roots and inspired Ofili to include references to African music, culture, religion and textiles, and to experiment with unconventional techniques, materials and subject matter.

It was at this time that the artist had the idea of using elephant dung to add texture to his canvases

Ofili also drew inspiration from the exquisite decorative motifs present in cave paintings.

Question 14

how was ofillis art style developing at the time

Answer 14

trip to zimbabwe inspired him to depict connections to african roots and use unconventional materials

in 1996, in which he shifted from making predominantly abstract paintings to pictures that primarily focus on large individual figures. More specifically, it is one of a number of paintings he made in 1998 and 1999 that depict black women from the chest upwards

Question 15

when was stephen lawrenece murdered

Answer 15

London, in a racially motivated attack in 1553

Question 16

composition

Answer 16

pyramidal composition

Question 17

significance of woman shown in profile

Answer 17

*She is shown in profile – associations with nobility and dignity and the tradition of portraiture

Question 18

how is the subject depicted

Answer 18

-Depicts a crying woman (eyes gently closed in sorrow), set amongst a series of abstract patterns.

*She is shown in profile – associations with nobility and dignity and the tradition of portraiture

*the woman’s face is formed of a thin brown painted outline that is filled with many small dark brown painted circles.

• She wears blue eye shadow, red lipstick, a string of coloured beads that sits just below her hairline and a thin black necklace

Forming the pendant of her necklace is a lump of elephant dung containing map pins.

A braid falls down the back of her neck

*A series of pale blue tears descends from each of her eyes. Every tear contains a tiny collaged portrait of Stephen Lawrence.

Question 19

what is on her necklace

Answer 19

Forming the pendant of her necklace is a lump of elephant dung containing map pins.

Question 20

what is in each tear

Answer 20

*A series of pale blue tears descends from each of her eyes. Every tear contains a tiny collaged portrait of Stephen Lawrence.

Question 21

how is the woman identified as Doreen Lawrence

Answer 21

tears with stephen collage in them

inscription- rip stephen lawrence

though this is not a portrait likeness as it also represents broader black suffering

Question 22

how are the diamonds across the painting created

Answer 22

*Rough lines of collaged circles create the shape of diamonds across the whole painting - they are cut from a reproduction of a work by the British abstract artist Bridget Riley (LINKS TO HIS PREVIOUS ABSTRACT STYLE)

Question 23

what is in the middle of the diamond shapes

Answer 23

*In the middle of these diamond shapes are black hearts.

Question 24

what colour is the background

Answer 24

*The background is painted with a mixture of pale green and bright yellow

*The decorative pattern and high-key colours contrasts with the somber subject matter and may indicate the claustrophobia of grief.

-exudes the cheerfulness of African landscapes – quietly poignant and incredibly powerful.

Question 25

what is near the figure's heart

Answer 25

*A fire of colour rages near her heart but she appears strong and dignified.

Question 26

how does ofilli explore stereotyped depictions of black people IN THIS PEICE

Answer 26

*Parody-like African mouth and exaggerated facial features call attention to racial stereotypes *A celebration of black “stereotypes”?

Question 27

what does the use of dung symbolise

Answer 27

*Dung – symbolic of African wildlife, literally elevates the painting, but in a defiant manner, in its Western context. Elephant dung, as a cultural symbol of regeneration, refers to Ofili’s African heritage. Elephants in Africa represent power. As well as applying the dung (sourced from London Zoo) directly to the surface of the work, Ofili often uses it as a foot-like support for displaying the paintings and elevating their status. The dung in Ofili's work has a second function. Ofili has said that "the paintings themselves are very delicate abstractions and I wanted to bring their beauty and decorativeness together with the ugliness" of the dung, so that people "can't ever really feel comfortable with it." In other words, the dung is supposed to be disturbing, its purpose becoming at least double-edged, like some of his allusions, which Ofili uses to play with a largely white art audience's assumptions about black culture.

Question 28

how does dung show reverence for ivory exploitation

Answer 28

There is also a sense that the use of elephant dung “reverses the dynamic” between Europeans and Africans. While African elephants have historically been mutilated by people from Western countries for their ivory, they somehow get their revenge through Ofili’s paintings: “shitting on the viewer from a great height, tusks intact”.

Question 29

how did the financial times describe this peice

Answer 29

*The Financial Times has described it as “a modern Pieta’”.

Question 30

when did the tae gallery purchase this peice

Answer 30

*The painting was purchased by the Tate Gallery in 1999. It was included in a mid-career retrospective of Ofili’s work at Tate Britain in 2010.

Question 31

use of dung quote

Answer 31

Ofili has said that "the paintings themselves are very delicate abstractions and I wanted to bring their beauty and decorativeness together with the ugliness" of the dung, so that people "can't ever really feel comfortable with it."

Question 32

what is stuck to the dung

Answer 32

*Coloured pins stuck into the two lumps of elephant dung that support and raise up the canvas say (on the left) ‘NO WOMAN’ and (on the right) ‘NO CRY’ – referring to the song by Bob Marley

Question 33

prominence of links to christian iconography

Answer 33

*There is also the mystical feel of Christian iconography. -links to his upbringing and artists own sense of identity being asserted in this peice

Question 34

space and depth

Answer 34

*Despite the many layers of materials, the woman has a flat appearance.

Question 35

what is written in phosepherent paint

Answer 35

*Written (but not visible) in phosphorescent paint beneath the surface of the painting are the words: RIP STEPHEN LAWRENCE 1974 – 1993

Question 36

stephen lawrence upbringing

Answer 36

*Stephen Lawrence was born in Greenwich District Hospital on 13 September 1974 to Jamaican parents who had emigrated to the UK in the 1960s. was an accomplished pupil at a school in south-east London and hoped to become an architect

Question 37

when was stephen lawrence killed and how

Answer 37

*On 22nd April 1993, at a bus stop, he was attacked by a group of five white youths with a knife. The stab wounds they inflicted were life-threatening: both severed axillary arteries before penetrating a lung. Lawrence’s friend shouted for him to run and escape with him. Stephen collapsed after running about 130 yards, and bled to death. The attack was unprovoked and motivated by racism.

Question 38

how did police respond the stephen lawrence's death

Answer 38

*Stephen’s mother and father Doreen and Neville worked with the subsequent investigation into their son’s murder but felt that the police team investigating had not acted as they should and that serious errors had been made in the process of the investigation. -parents campaigned about inadequate police support To date only two of the five perpetrators have been imprisoned for the murder. PUBLIC INQUIRY *In 1997, after the collapse of the inquest against the suspected perpetrators of the attack, the Home Secretary, Jack Straw announced that a public inquiry would be held; into the killing of Stephen Lawrence and the subsequent investigation. In 1998, as a result of the inquiry the Head of Metropolitan Police, Sir Paul Condon publically apologised to the Lawrence family and admitted that there had been failures in the Met. Police’s conduct. *In 1999, the findings of the inquiry were published in what is now known as the Macpherson Report. It found that the Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist

Question 39

what was the macpherson report

Answer 39

*In 1999, the findings of the inquiry were published in what is now known as the Macpherson Report. It found that the Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist It marked a major victory for Doreen Lawrence not only for the official recognition of the mishandling of her son’s case but also for the impact it had and would continue to have on the reform of the Metropolitan Police.

Question 40

how did the family continue to fight

Answer 40

*Doreen Lawrence and her husband continue to fight against injustice and through the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust aim to promote positive community legacy. In 2003 she was appointed an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) for her ‘services to community relations’ and in 2013 was made a life peer, and is now Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon.

Question 41

what was the artistic process

Answer 41

- painted on a coarse linen canvas that was bought pre-primed -Ofili added several further layers of acrylic gesso primer and then covered the entire canvas with phosphorescent light green acrylic paint. -He then drew lines over it in pencil, before adding the collaged circles that make up the diamond pattern, which are cut from a reproduction of a work by the British abstract artist Bridget Riley -Ofili then applied the heart shapes in black oil paint and the black dots using rub-on transfers -transfers. Following this, he used more phosphorescent paint to write the text across the painting, before fixing the dung pendant onto the canvas with a glue gun -. A polyester resin mixed with orange and black pigments and glitter was then poured onto the work while it was positioned horizontally, and the canvas was tipped up before drying, producing runs of resin that are visible around its edges. -Finally, oil paint thinned with turpentine was applied to depict the woman and unthinned oils were used for the beads and the colours on her chest.

Question 42

effect of dense layering

Answer 42

* This painting is a powerful example of Ofili’s physical and metaphorical layering: he builds up materials on the canvas as well as layering meanings. * The dense layering of materials is common in Ofili’s paintings from the 1990’s.