Ekué Woekedje Meschac Gaba (* 1961 in Cotonou, Benin) addresses major socio-political questions— such as the contemporary effects of colonialism with­in a system of globalization—with surprising light­ness. A central motif in his work is the banknote. Ma­nipulated bills symbolize an abstract currency system that makes fanciful decisions regarding social exclu­sion and integration. Defying the arbitrary mecha­nisms of the market and the Eurocentric thinking of the international art world, the artist puts African art at center stage. His Museum of Contemporary African Art (1997-2002), for instance, is a laboratory where the collective effects of the market are not only made visible but can also be changed. Icons of western cul­ture enter into a creative dialogue with historical fig­ures from the African tradition.
 
Exhibition: Deutsche Bank KunstHalle, Berlin 20.9.-16.11.2014