On November 10, 1995, writer/activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight members of the Ogoni tribe were hung—despite worldwide protests—for having peacefully challenged oil companies.

The “Oil Change” project is a multimedia installation and practice that aims to illuminate these state-sanctioned killings and the deleterious effect of decades of oil production.

Through an intimate analysis of sociopolitical issues within the Niger Delta, the project seeks to reconcile a colonial past, and to show that systemically (moving beyond body/self to land/environment), art can be a powerful tool for awareness, activism and catharsis.

As witness, I expose the rape of the Niger Delta’s ecosystems and communities. In attempts to reconcile my place in the often-confusing interstice between being of Nigerian heritage and a citizen of the United States, I recognize its story as mine.

Utilizing specific repurposed materials, “Oil Change” invites the viewer to question, to reflect, to empathize, to engage and continue to bear witness. Sculptural elements include a wall-mounted Shell light box, red-stained wood gas pumps, videos, aquariums filled with oil, water and gari (a staple Nigerian flour-like meal made from cassava). The “Hanging Ogonis” installation consists of nine polished black plastic-and steel gas nozzles suspended from the ceiling by nine black 3/4″ x 10″ long rubber hoses. Beneath each nozzle—atop mounds of earth—are piles of rice, feathers, black- eyed beans, cassava, cocoyams, a bowl of red palm oil, kolanuts, a pile of my shaved dreadlocks, and a pile of bones. This simultaneously symbolizes the Ogoni activists and the oil companies that have ruined the land.

“Oil Change” invites viewers to become witnesses through understanding the facts, raising consciousness, writing letters, signing petitions and having discussions about this and other human rights violations.