Bruce Onobrakpeya (1932) - Emiovbo Beroma

Bruce Onobrakpeya (Nigeria, born 1932)

Title of the work: Emiovbo Beroma (Lament), 1983
Technique: Ivorex plastograph on panel, Lagos

Work realized in 1983 by Bruce Onobrakpeya, a major figure in Nigerian modern and contemporary art, Emiovbo Beroma belongs to an emblematic series of plastographs developed in Lagos in the early 1980s.

The vertical composition presents a collective figurative structure, built by superposition and interlocking of stylized bodies, organized according to a hieratic and totemic logic. The drawing, treated in incised lines and repetitive motifs, incorporates graphic and geometric signs characteristic of the artist’s visual vocabulary, directly inspired by Urhobo and Beninese traditions as well as by his post‑Zaria formal research.

The work is executed using the so‑called Ivorex plastograph technique, an experimental process developed by Bruce Onobrakpeya, located at the crossroads of intaglio engraving, bas‑relief, and impression on a rigid support. The green background, textured and irregular, enhances the contrast with the light‑relief drawing, giving the whole a strong material presence.

Unlike the more commonly seen paper multiples, this piece is made on a mounted rigid panel, constituting a self‑standing work rather than a simple print.

Details
Artist: Bruce Onobrakpeya (Nigeria, born 1932)
Title: Emiovbo Beroma (title often translated or interpreted as Lament)
Date: 1983
Place of creation: Lagos, Nigeria
Technique: Ivorex plastograph
Support: rigid panel
Presentation: metal frame
Provenance: Oviomaro Gallery, Lagos (original label on the back)
Inscriptions: work titled, dated, located and signed on the back
Condition: good overall condition, patina and light signs of use consistent with age