The Upper Room: Mono Morado 2002

Editor: Right, next up we have Chris Ofili's 'The Upper Room: Mono Morado', completed in 2002 using mixed media including acrylic paint. It's such an intense, almost overwhelming, burst of colour. What exactly *am* I looking at? What do *you* see when you look at it? Curator: I'm glad you asked. At first glance, it's an explosion of violet and deep indigo, but look closer, my dear, and a shadowy figure begins to emerge, intertwined with a dense, almost jungle-like composition. It whispers of nighttime wanderings, hidden encounters, perhaps even something… primal. Does it remind you of anything? Editor: It does! It’s making me think of Henri Rousseau… or maybe even a tapestry of some kind. Is there a sense of that, do you think? Curator: Absolutely. Ofili pulls from various sources. He is building a bridge, quite beautifully if I say so myself. The layering and the vibrant colour choices, reminiscent of post-Impressionism, gives it a dreamlike feel. What strikes me is how he challenges our perception, hiding in plain sight, creating that space for reflection and perhaps, dare I say it, a touch of the spiritual. Editor: That’s lovely, “hiding in plain sight”! It also makes me realize how much the title changes my view of the whole thing – how does that space become a room? I guess I hadn’t thought of the composition as *intentionally* creating a space, even a mental space. Thanks, that gives me a new way to look at this piece! Curator: It certainly did for me, thinking aloud with you! I’ll never look at Ofili the same way.