Chris Ofili’s current exhibition at Tate Britain demonstrates the relationship between an artist and the society in which he lives. The seven rooms consist of highly politicised images, constructed from a concoction of media, that deal with issues of ethnicity, sex, identity, contemporary culture and even innovatively exploit the last taboo: shit.

Influenced notably by the musical genre of hip-hop, Ofili brings the audacious, counter-political communications and sexual overtones of rap together with traditional African artistry. Seven Bitches Tossing their Pussies Before the Divine Dung encapsulates this idea of a potent display of African ritual beliefs within a contemporary framework. Ultimately, each piece in the exhibition is unified by an overwhelming tenor of rhythm and an inextricable interdependence of parts, as if mimicking the intertwined poetry and repetitious baseline of American hip-hop.

Despite momentary flashes of a darker and more serious nature, the main body of work is simply good fun. The joy as well as the powerful message of Ofili’s pieces lies in the process of discovery and comprehension within a mass of glitter, liberal colour and erotic images cut from porn magazines. As a viewer it is easy to become transfixed within the patterns themselves, to follow the intricately painted lines like a labyrinth finding hidden jewels and even little bottoms, as in the case of The Holy Virgin Mary.

Ofili’s newest works, ominous in their size and spatial uncertainty, have lost their dung, their minute detail and arguably their artistic joviality. Coinciding with the artist’s move to Trinidad, Ofili seems to have transcended creatively to a politically quieter more tranquil space, void of the contradictions of British society.

Ofili’s brilliance rests with his refutation of conformity. The paintings rebuff the constraints of the traditional frame and nail, and even the conventional exhibition space is challenged by David Adjaye’s shrine-like architecture in the Upper Room. Dazzling, striking, moving, this exhibition is visually and mentally stimulating on an infinite level.

Until May 16

ELLA PREDOTA-DAVISON