Idoma Statue, Nigeria, c. 1940

The Idoma give their ancestors a transcendental place in everyday life. The resurrection of the dead is a significant element as well as the cult of the spirits of nature (Anjenu) which are celebrated through the mediation of figures kept in sanctuaries. In particular, a protective spirit lives in the water or in the forest and can appear in dreams. The Anjenu favours commercial transactions, helps to cure illnesses and is invoked by men in order to make their wives pregnant. Conical, protruding breasts and navels are common. The face is usually painted with white pigments, a stylistic feature often shared with the Ibo people. Reproduced: Catalogue “Africa Babel: the Art of a Continent”, p.- 81 left Height: 52 cm
 
Exhibitions:
2022-2024 Island of Fuerteventura “Art Africa: Ancestral Light”. Lighthouse of the Entallada. Cabildo of Fuerteventura.
2021-2022 Panama City. Government of Panama. “Art Africa: the spirit of the ancestors”. Ministry of Culture Headquarters. Casco Viejo.
2019-2020 Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Caja Canarias Foundation. “Africa-Babel: the art of a Continent”. Headquarters Plaza Patriotismo.
2013-2015 Museum of Art of Africa and Oceania (Madao). La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia.
2005 “Black Africa”, Leather Museum.
2004 “Black Africa”. Caixa Laietana Foundation, Barcelona. Main exhibition hall