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Elenu Eiye ("the owner of the mouth that's in constant celebration") Mask and Costume for a "Being from Beyond"
Elenu Eiye ("the owner of the mouth that's in constant celebration") Mask and Costume for a "Being from Beyond"

Elenu Eiye ("the owner of the mouth that's in constant celebration") Mask and Costume for a "Being from Beyond"

Date2001
Label TextHow do you handle people who are just too too happy all the time? This masquerade character brings the question up for consideration with his wide grin and silly performance. He is "in constant celebration" -- giggling and laughing, sometimes at inappropriate moments. Just because he is always happy, people don't take him seriously. However, he is not a simple fool, but someone who tests the limit of tolerance for being too jolly. His behavior is annoying, but also perplexing. Is he out of sync with reality, or is everyone else just taking life too seriously?
Object number2001.37
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Disguise: Masks and Global African Art, June 18 - Sept. 7, 2015 (Los Angeles, California, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Oct. 18, 2015 - Mar. 13, 2016; Brooklyn, New York, Brooklyn Museum, Apr. 29 - Sept. 18, 2016).
Credit LineGeneral Acquisition Fund
DimensionsSeated, approx.: 56 x 43 x 35 in. Mask: 11 x 6 x 21" Under pants: 38 x 23" Ankara cloth: 15 x 58" Ankara cloth: 74 x 51" Shirt: 52 x 21"
MediumWood, enamel paint, buba (shirt), and iro ("something to wrap") of Anakara cloth