Iyagbon Bokhian

This return of the mask, which through theatre and fiction has become a ritual object, echoes the journey of objects from colonial looting, which are slowly beginning to leave European museums and return to their countries of origin.

This is the logical and necessary continuation of this artistic adventure, a second episode that will take place in Benin City. The site specific creation will be the result of collaboration between Samson Ogiamien, Onyrikon, the Ogiamien Palace, University of Benin, the Guilds of Royal bronze casters Igun Street and Kada Cinema.

The final performance will take place in a site of extraordinary symbolic importance: the Ogiamien Royal Palace, a protected historical and cultural building and an exceptional example of intact pre-colonial architecture. In 1897, the Oba palace was plundered and during the British colonisation, works of art and sacred objects were looted from various temples and palaces, including the Ogiamien palace, where the altars to the sculptor’s ancestors can still be found today. The Iyagbon mask will take refuge within its walls.

As part of the repatriates project, a conference was held at the National Museum of Benin on February 25, 2025, as a prelude to the Iyagbon Bokhian project: https://repatriates.org/iyagbon/iy-agbon-bokhian-mother-deity-welcome/