Jelili Atiku

Jelili Atiku. Photo by Enoh Lienemann

Jelili Atiku was born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1968. Atiku is a pioneer of contemporary performance art in Nigeria. Through drawing, installation sculpture, photography, video, and live art performance, Atiku puts art at the service of the prevailing concerns of our time such as violence, war, poverty, corruption, and climate change. Atiku participated in the 57° Edition of the Venice Biennale, and his works have been exhibited at SAVVY Contemporary in Berlin, Marrakech Biennial, and Parc de la Villette in Paris, among others.
Titled Festival of the Earth (Alaraagbo XIII), Atiku’s project is a processional performance that takes inspiration from the traditional Santa Rosalia city procession and the Yoruba legends. The performance, combining ritual processions with the presence of plants and sculptural objects, took place on 15 June 2018 in the streets of the city centre of Palermo. The documentation and the video of the procession are on view at Palazzo Costantino until 4 November 2018.