HOLY STAR BOYZ

The Holy Star Boyz are a new breed.
From another place that is still being invented,
they are hybrid forms of existence that cannot truly belong.
Born to perform , yet they cannot behave
as their original mother would have them behave.
They are made of new material. 


Karikpo: Holy Star Boyz is a continuation of Zina Saro-Wiwa’s exploration into the world of masquerade in the Niger Delta, specifically the antelope-inspired Karikpo masquerade that is unique to the Ogoni people. In this series of lightboxes, Saro-Wiwa has reinvented the mask and used them as motifs to express a range of personal emotions and socio-political questions. Her first work utilising masquerade Karikpo Pipeline - a five-channel video - transposed the boyish, athletic and acrobatic performance of the masquerade onto remnants of the oil industry dotted around the Ogoniland landscape. This new series of lightbox works express the ways the industry has impacted and transformed social performances and is a meditation on hybridity and alienation. Although the masks themselves are cast from an actual traditional karikpo mask, these new breeds are made of a petroleum-based resin. And whilst they appear translucent they are far heavier than their wooden predecessor and do not allow for the acrobatic performance that is traditional for Karikpo dancers. The color of the masks reference the colors worn by industrial labourers and penal dwellers in the Niger Delta and around the world. The series was most recently shown at the 2023 Kochi Biennale in India.

All images in this series are framed lightboxes: Duratrans C-prints mounted on plexi placed on a wooden framed lightbox. Switch and dimmer attached. Unless otherwise stated, each lightbox is available in two sizes 20”x30” or 40”x60” with an edition of 3 in each size and 1 Artist Print.