Chris Ofili's Blue Devils: Between Black Men and the Police
THE GUARDIAN
By Matthew Ryder
UNITED KINGDOM---Powerful and deeply uncomfortable new painting expresses the anger and humiliation inspired by ‘stop and search’ at a time when the issue has never been more talked-about.
In choosing Blue Devils (2014) as the title of his ominous, dark new painting, Chris Ofili has disturbingly and deliciously subverted that famous Trinidadian Carnival reference, transposing it to the streets of London, Manchester or New York. Through this piece, Ofili adds his voice at a timely point to the long-running debate concerning the relationship of black men with the police, in the United Kingdom and the United States, since it has gained unusual intensity in recent months. [link]
This essay, Blue Devils by Matthew Ryder, was originally published in Chris Ofili: Night and Day; (c) New Museum, New York; published by Skira Rizzoli Publications, Inc., New York, 2014.
By Matthew Ryder
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| Chris Ofili, Iscariot Blues, 2006. Photograph: Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London |
In choosing Blue Devils (2014) as the title of his ominous, dark new painting, Chris Ofili has disturbingly and deliciously subverted that famous Trinidadian Carnival reference, transposing it to the streets of London, Manchester or New York. Through this piece, Ofili adds his voice at a timely point to the long-running debate concerning the relationship of black men with the police, in the United Kingdom and the United States, since it has gained unusual intensity in recent months. [link]
This essay, Blue Devils by Matthew Ryder, was originally published in Chris Ofili: Night and Day; (c) New Museum, New York; published by Skira Rizzoli Publications, Inc., New York, 2014.
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