THE MIGRANT

Towering at 457.2 cm, The Migrant stood sentinel in the New Contemporary Atrium at SCOPE Miami Art Fair from November 29 to December 4, 2022. It was forged from aluminum and steel, stripped of arms and torso, composed only of long, powerful legs and a single, oversized boxed head. This head, inspired by Journey Mercies, bears witness, silently surveying the world from a height that honors and protects.

The Migrant is a striking sculptural embodiment of displacement, defiance, and self-determination. It honors those who move, voluntarily or not, across thresholds, oceans, and hostile borders, often without recognition or reprieve.

But this is not just any migrant. This is also a self-portrait. Nwadiogbu inserts his own image onto the surface of the head, an act of radical transparency, tying his personal narrative to the collective. The Migrant bears the marks of bureaucratic wrapping and social distortion. It is the African body in motion, bubble wrapped in legal tape, caught between foreign scrutiny and hometown suspicion. Yet it stands, not as victim, but as agent.

The Migrant invites viewers to look up, both literally and figuratively. To witness the magnitude of migration. To honor the courage it takes to move. To acknowledge the price of a bold decision and the beauty of a borderless imagination.

Digitally designed by Funfere Koroye. Fabricated by Art Force Studio. Curated by Roger Karera
Commissioned and supported by SCOPE Miami Art Fair and 193 Gallery