Commissioned as the first ever public sculpture for the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Black Starliner rises 13 metres high, created as the centrepiece for the opening of Kings and Queens of Africa: Forms and Figures of Power. The work takes its name from the shipping line established by Marcus Garvey in the 1920s, which symbolised a vision of return, empowerment and new futures for the African diaspora. Ové transforms this historic reference into a contemporary monument that looks simultaneously to the past, present and future.

In its scale and presence, Black Starliner speaks to the passage of time and the journeys of displacement, survival and cultural resilience across centuries. The sculpture reflects on the legacies of transatlantic exchange while also projecting forward through Afrofuturism, envisioning new worlds and identities born from migration and globalisation. Stainless steel and resin elements combine strength with lightness, embodying both endurance and transformation.

Installed outside the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the work stands as a beacon of memory and possibility, connecting ancestral histories to imagined futures.