Meschac Gaba

Meschac Gaba brings together over 75 objects related to various world religions and cultures. Symbols of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Vodún and other traditional African faiths are arranged on shelves of a cross-shaped wooden structure. This room also includes a table and chairs used for Tarot card readings.

Art has long played an important role in the teaching and dissemination of religion. Gaba comments that in contemporary Benin, where he is from, most people are poly-religious: ‘Catholics brought Christianity, but for my ancestors Catholicism and Voodoo are not different ... You will see sculptures of angels, of Jesus Christ, and the Mami Wata all in the same house.’

In his museum-within-a-museum, Gaba challenges the expectations and boundaries of what’s perceived as art and as religious artifacts. We see empty beer bottles, a child’s plastic toy doll, mirrors, crystals, a piggy bank, reminding us that everyday objects can carry spiritual significance. Removing them from their original contexts and presenting them in a gallery space, Gaba reveals the power museums have to create and dictate value. For the artist, inspiration comes from daily life, ‘because in daily life you find new things, you find traditional things, you find everything.’