Abstract

Nelson Edewor (b. 1970), is a contemporary Nigerian sculptor. Apart from commissioned works, his major media of expression are mortar, bronze, and wood, embellished with aluminum plates, ropes, and fibers. Other embellishing materials include cowries, pigments, beads, and non-ferrous metals. He incorporates certain elements of traditional Niger Delta sculptures, especially Iphri (a statue of aggression and social control), and forms of oil exploration/exploitation apparatuses; these make his sculptures look robot-like. This paper adopts a biographical method, coupled with regional and cultural semiotic approaches to examine Edewor’s works and determine his intent as presented in his New Images of the Niger Delta. It also attempts a retrospective view of his developmental trajectory, style, and the meanings which may be garnered from the images here presented.