Princess Elizabeth Olowu

Princess Elizabeth Olowu was born on 25 October 1939 as the daughter of Oba Akenzua II. As a child, she worked alongside her mother, learning to sculpt items related to palace life and ritualistic needs. Olowu was enthusiastic about learning and attended Holy Child College, where she developed a love for reading. She continued her education at the Federal Emergency Science School where she majored in botany, chemistry, and zoology, which she later taught at the Anglican girls' grammar school. At age 18 she married her high school friend, Babatunde Olowu and had her first child in 1964. In 1966 she continued her education by enrolling in the University of Nigeria, however she was persuaded to leave the school after finishing her first year.

She continued teaching once home and regularly organized art shows for her female students, which eventually attracted the attention of the director of Benin University’s Creative Arts department, who invited her to join the Fine Arts program. In 1979 she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and by the year 1981 she had begun to work on her post graduate study, which included her thesis on “An Investigation into Benin Cire Perdue Casting Technique”. This accomplishment made her the first female recipient of a Master of fine arts, the first bronze caster and bronze founder. In 1985 she received the Bendel State Award for Art and Culture and was later recognized by the Young Women’s Catholic Association for her contribution to uplifting the status of women in her country.

In 1979 Olowu sculpted an autobiographical sculpture of a young girl sitting at a desk while engrossed in a book. This sculpture was one of the first from her culture that depicted an individual female figure. The year 1983 was also an important year of her life. She explored, in depth, the themes of power from an emotionally diverse perspective. Some distinguished sculptures from this year include The Oba and Christ Bearing the Sins of Humanity. The Oba depicts her father, who was instrumental in facilitating her career and her education. The statue is made personal by bearing her handprint as a robe design. Christ Bearing the Sins of Humanity is over seven feet tall and shows a geometric Christ figure hunched underneath the weight of the cross. Olowu's most well known work is Zero Hour. Zero Hour shows a mother during childbirth as she hovers between life and death and exudes the emotions of pain and expectancy. It celebrates the strength of expectant mothers and the emotions felt childbirth. Olowu herself was pregnant during the creation and work on the sculpture until the final moments of her pregnancy.