Tyburn Gallery
Art Dubai 2018

In this new body of work, Cartographers of Dreams, created during a four-week residency for Art Dubai, Ehikhamenor maps the minds of those who first dreamed of creating one of the most innovative and architecturally awe-inspiring modern cities in history, leading in technology and infrastructure, attracting people from all over the world.

Ehikhamenor presents a meditation on those who dream up the maps and those who draw the maps, creating abstract works on paper and canvas undulating with topographies and geographies in a mix of dark and vibrant colours. Drawing together references from his own culture and that of the local area, the artist uses lines which recall both Arabic calligraphy and the artistic traditions of Benin City. His sculptural installation, The Metamorphosis of a Tall Dream, draws dual inspiration from the Igunnuko masquerade of Nigeria, considered the tallest masquerade in Africa, and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world. The works come together to highlight a kinship between different cultures, revealing the universality of human creativity.