In one of her monumental steel sculptures, called Alali Aru, Sokari Douglas Camp recreates the gender roles and the influence the women possess in the Kalabari masquerade festival.[1] Alali Aru is based on the 1984 masquerade festival boat, as seen on the right, which celebrated the founding of Buguma.[2] However, the rowers that are seen in the festival boat are not physically present in Douglas Camp’s sculpture, as the rowers are present in spirit. This is represented by the paddles that are moved electrically, which can be seen in the first ten seconds of the video below.
Therefore, since the rowers are present only in spirit, the attention is focused on the male masquerade performer in a festival boat. The sole male performer is made from metal and is fully dressed in costume. Outside of the vessel, there is an audience of four women who are dressed in traditional Kalabari clothing and are pointing and observing the masquerader. The noticeable physical separation of the male and females portray the different roles of the males from the females during the masquerade festival. The spectator women represent the female dominance and the majority of the audience that ultimately determine the fate of the masquerader.
Festival Boat with Masquerader
Steel, Wood, Electroengine, 1986.
396 x 610 x 243 cm
The females hold vital positions in the masquerade, as the male performer needs to impress the females in order to gain respect from the audience.[3] The males are critiqued harshly and can be either praised and rewarded or be publicly humiliated by the female audience members.[4] The piece depicts the pressure that the male dancer carries throughout his performance, as he needs to impress the female judges. There is tension in the considerable distance between the female figures and the male performer. The distance would be difficult for the male performer to discern the reactions of the female judges under his elaborate headdress that covers his facial features. The viewers are also kept in suspense, as they are unaware of the final responses from the female judges and the performer’s outcome. The whole composition draws in the viewer and portrays the distinct gender roles in the masquerade festival, as well as the influence the Kalabari women have in determining the performer’s fate.
[1] Camp, Sokari Douglas. “Sokari Douglas Camp.” Sokari Douglas Camp. April 17, 2017. Accessed March 15, 2018. http://sokari.co.uk/.
[2] Douglas Camp, Sokari. Echoes of the Kalabari: Sculpture by Sokari Douglas Camp. Place of Publication Not Identified]: Smithsonian Institution, 1988.
[3]Horton, Robin. Kalabari Sculpture. Lagos: Dept. of Antiquities, Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1965.
[4] Griffith, Logan, Wahlman, Maude S., Albu, Cristina, and Dunbar, Burton. Kalabari Masquerade and the Gaze: Identity and Spectatorship in the Sculptures of Sokari Douglass Camp, 2014, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
The Importance of Women in the Kalabari Masquerade Festival Illustrated by Sokari Douglas Camp 