Henry Drewal's new exhibition at the Chazen Art Museum, Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas,"" displays 20th century African art with a small sampling of traditional pieces - including pottery, sculptures, masks, headdresses, beadwork, alters, paintings and many other forms.
""Mami Wata"" is not your typical African art exhibit - not the kind with the shiny gold statues or the half-preserved mummies. Instead, it dedicates itself to the mermaid snake charmer Mami Wata - a water spirit and African religious symbol - and to any other forms that people may have interpreted as Mami Wata (including a mermaid figurehead from a European ship.
The ambiguous symbolism and the topic's originality make the exhibition an engaging learning experience. The objects' labels and wall texts are concise, enhancing the viewer's ability to interpret the artwork on his or her own.
Just beyond the entrance to the exhibit, a long screen displays video footage of the ocean under an orange and purple sunset, which is a gateway to the underwater paradise of the ""Mami Wata"" exhibit.
Besides these features, vibrant colors - red, turquoise, yellow - immediately jump from the paintings and the mixed-media objects scattered about the room, including television screens that offer the artists' commentaries.
One of more than 100 inspiring pieces, Nancy Josephson's ""La Siren,"" is a magnificent, seven-foot Mami Wata. Two serpents wrap around her long, black-beaded hair, gold-beaded torso, arms, neck and between her rhinestone studded breasts, while she raises her arms in triumph, towering over an equally passionate exhibition.
The hip, culturally-rich exhibit is likely to attract youthful audiences who enjoy art, bare skin or ""The Little Mermaid."" Open through Jan. 11, ""Mami Wata"" is exhilarating, vivid and an edgy experience.
