Anderson Art Gallery Review: Chandeliers

Located in the University at Buffalo Anderson Art Gallery lies a sculpture made out of chandeliers. The piece is titled Fathom and was made in 2017 by Kambui Olujimi. The materials used for the displayed sculpture consists of chandeliers, rubber inner tubes, rope, and wooden pallet. Typically hung overhead as decorative accents, chandeliers have always remained as emblems for wealth, class and privilege due to their high costs that only most rich people could afford to own.

Chandeliers are the first sight a person sees when they enter a public place or home as they remain as the chief light fixture not only due from the simple job as a source of light but also due to their ability to sparkle and shine regardless of whether or not the lights are on or off from the reflections on the glass. Olujimi, however, had aimed to disrupt the people’s views for this symbolism by dislocating the light fixtures from their traditional environment and placing them on a structure made from a ramshackle wooden crate tethered with rope to two rubber inner tubes. The true beauty of chandeliers come through when the lights are turned on. In this structure, all the lights are turned on, almost as if to symbolize the beauty of people coming together for the cause of progressing toward a similar goal. The chandeliers can be seen as suggestive of human bodies huddled together on top of a make-shift flotation raft, much like those used by refugees making dangerous voyages across the seas.

Fathom thus points to a political and moral crisis in this aspect. At a time when millions of vulnerable refugees are desperately seeking safety, extremely severe and harmful virulent hostility to immigrants has remained a rising force in many countries, including the United States. Despite the precarious position of remaining to be seen as humans on a dangerous journey, Olujimi’s chandeliers also remain to be seen as dignified, operating not only as simple sources of illumination, but also as fragile sources of power. Shining brightly from the ground, fallen crystals refracting a dazzling light, this quietly profound installation touches on the impact of xenophobia, an intense and irrational fear of people, and intolerance of them as well. Along with that idea, the piece hints at the human persistence that is necessary to overcome societal barriers and generate light from darkness.

Chandeliers were originally used in abbeys and medieval churches in order to competently light up huge rooms and halls. It is a fixture set at the ceiling which has about two or more arms embracing lights. Before, a chandelier’s typical form was of a wooden cross which has spikes for securing it. By using the wooden pallet in contrast to the expensive chandeliers, it reminds the viewer of how times have changed over the centuries. By giving the sense of nostalgia of history, the piece can also bring another sense to the meaning of the display by referring to the passing and changing of objects overtime.