CHALLENGING EURO CENTRIC AND WESTERN ART

THE ART OF ZAK OVE

A CHANGING WORLD 

Zak Ove's art is often concerned with the white dominance over African Culture and Peoples.  He ask you to question also with thought and deep inquiry by presenting you with images that challenge how you view the world and the media that presents a Western and Eurocentric view. His art is intelligent and commanding, it smacks you right in the face of any hidden prejudice and opens your eyes to a world you may not have seen if he had not pulled back the veil of ignorance.

Elizabeth Gordon, RMS.

ZAK OVE    from google for educational purposes only

When I was looking at Zak's work it brought me back to something that had happened when I was teaching at Nina Harris Exception Child Center in Florida.  Our population of students were trainable, educable and profound..along with autistic, multi handicapped, and other.  The students graduated at 19 and went on to group centers if they were capable.  One day there was a big commotion in the front office as I was walking through and there stood an African American young man about 19 or 20 who had painted himself completely white.  I was told he was a  past student, and somehow manages once or twice a year to catch a bus and then walk to his old school....and he is always covered in white paint.  They said he watched tv and saw all the people on the commercials, in movies and tv shows were white.  He just wanted to be white to be like them and have  what they had!

This is what our media has done to a whole population of people.  It has completely ignored a way of life and culture that exists in this country due to bias financial interest.  That story happened in the 1980's, and it has changed some, but only a bit.  What Zak's art points out to us is that it hurts people, it hurts kids, adults, and families and it hurts whole countries and continents!  I think he is an artist that is important and one that we should watch and support.  

zak ove, London artist             from google only for educational purposes only