Chris Ofili at the V&A

The Chris Ofili exhibition at the V&A

Ofili was born in Manchester he completed a foundation course in art at Tameside College in Ashton-under-Lyne and studied in London, at the Chelsea School of Art from 1988-91 and at The Royal College of Art from 1991-93.

Ofili was established through exhibitions by Charles Saatchi at his gallery in north London and the traveling exhibition sensation (1997) becoming recognized as one of the few British artists of African/Caribbean descent to break through as a member of the Young British Artists. Ofili has also had numerous solo shows since the early 1990s including the Serpentine Gallery. In 1998, Ofili won the Turner Prize and in 2003 he was selected to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale of that year, where his work for the British Pavilion was done in collaboration with the architect David Adjaye.

After seeing Chris Ofili’s work I understand the controversial review that is has received, it is fascinating and slight disturbing all at the same time. The use of a material that has never been used in art this way before and for it to symbols such a strong message. Ofili's detractors often state that he "splatters" elephant dung on his pictures, isn’t necessarily accurate he sometimes applies it directly to the canvas in the form of dried spherical lumps, and sometimes, in the same form, uses it as foot-like supports on which the paintings stand.

He experiments heavily with collage, and layers of resins and the elephant dung, The elephant dung that protrudes from the surface of his many canvases and bears the weight of their frames is not there to shock but rather acts as a material symbol for blackness, underscoring the weight, the implication of his work in the context of identity politics. 'No Woman No Cry', a celebrated Tate-owned work, is a bold and moving image honoring the mother of the murdered black schoolboy Stephen Lawrence. Tenderly, Ofili commemorates a mother’s loss as her son’s image, captured inside her teardrops, silently descends.

I really enjoyed this collection of painting and found it rather refreshing, he has been experimental in a way, which people didn’t expect, and this that not only do his images hold such a strong message but also they are also very beautiful.