Romuald Hazoumé

Irish Museum of Modern Art, Kilmainham, Dublin Tues- Sat 10am-5.30pm (Wed 10.30am-5.30pm), Sun noon-5.30pm Until May 5 01-6129900

Romuald Hazoumé’s work has been shown in the UK, but this substantial exhibition is his first to be seen in Ireland. Hazoumé, one of the leading contemporary African artists, was born and still lives and works in Porto Novo in the Republic of Benin. It’s noticeable that he hasn’t felt inclined to move to one of the cities that dominate the Western art world, and his work deals with issues on his own doorstep, concerning the exploitation of Africa’s natural resources in ways that do not benefit the general population.

Discarded jerry cans are a staple material for Hazoumé, recycled as versions of the tribal masks that fascinated and inspired early Modernist artists. But Hazoumé is not didactic. He prefers people to interpret his work for themselves, and he sees it as being relevant in a context way beyond the local.

“We need to understand,” he has said, “that we have the same problems all over the world on different levels.”

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Cutters/Cork West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen Until Mar 12