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Art exploring African mythology and futurism

See works in Accra from 25 Ghanaian and African diaspora artists that explore African mythology to reimagine worlds beyond the human.

Denyse Gawu-Mensah, Forgotten Fragments, Photo transfer on sac linen, brass metals, 60 x 32cm.
Denyse Gawu-Mensah, Forgotten Fragments, Photo transfer on sac linen, brass metals, 60 x 32cm.

‘Constellations Part 2: Figures in Webs and Ripples of Space’ is the second instalment of an

exhibition by contemporary art space Gallery 1957 at Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast and

Galleria Mall. The exhibition runs until 10 October.


The artists' work connect and rupture relations through a constellation of machines, plants,

religious or mythical objects, memorabilia, and all forms of objects that connect and

estrange us.


Artists are: Clifford Bright Abu, Abdul-Salam Alhassan, Akosua Odeibea Amoah-Yeboah,

Dela Anyah, Dzidzor Azaglo, Elolo Bosoka, Jasper Dafeamekpor, Rosemary Esinam Damalie,

Victor Ehikhamenor, Samuel Baah Kortey, Rebekka Macht, Afrane Makof, Putin Ofori,

Frederick Ebenezer Okai, Na Chainkua Reindorf, Ghizlane Sahli, Nyahan Tachie-Menson, Jonathan Okoronkwo.


Also part of the roll call are: Lois Selasie Arde-Acquah, Phoebe Boswell, Adelaide Damoah,

Denyse Gawu-Mensah, Henry Hussey, Sarah Meyohas, and Lisa C Soto, who were part of

the first installation in London, ‘Constellations Part 1: Figures on Earth & Beyond’.


Here's a snapshot of some of what these artists are exhibiting:


Lois Selasie Arde-Acquah reconnects visitors to the first edition of this sister-city project in

London by similarly creating a portal of synthetic-leather creeping through the building’s

floors.


Putin Ofori's work are paintings of Ananse stories.


Frederick Ebenezer Okai’s installation of earthenware represents spiritual gateways in

Ghanaian traditions.


Clifford Bright Abu uses ancient Asante architecture to reconstruct these structures into

digital avatars of extinct architectural histories in contemporary surrealist landscapes.

Clifford Bright Abu, Roots, 2024, Canvas print, 33 x 23 in
Clifford Bright Abu, Roots, 2024, Canvas print, 33 x 23 in

Rebekka Macht explores the bond between a mother and child.


Victor Ehikhamenor's tapestries figuratively reconstruct the traditional authority figures of

the Benin Kingdom with cheap massified rosaries which explores the complexity of

colonisation, capitalism, and religion.

Victor Ehikhamenor, THE MONARCH II, 2024, Rosary, coral beads, and thread with bronze totem on lace textile, 53 x 31 in
Victor Ehikhamenor, THE MONARCH II, 2024, Rosary, coral beads, and thread with bronze totem on lace textile, 53 x 31 in

The dyed naval flag of Henry Hussey features the iconic Benin Bronze with the title ‘Henry’, who was one of the Portuguese sailors who funded the exploitation of the West African region.


The works of Adelaide Damoah encourage us to ponder ancestral cosmic relations by

creating delicate silks and multi-layered cyanotypes with Adinkra symbols that speak of the

origins of life.


Na Chainkua Reindorf’s paintings touch on the contextual relation between women and

textiles.

Na Chainkua Reindorf, Bomi: take off, 2022, Acrylic gouache, poured medium and fabric on clayboard, 72 x 48 in
Na Chainkua Reindorf, Bomi: take off, 2022, Acrylic gouache, poured medium and fabric on clayboard, 72 x 48 in

Elolo Bosoka’s photographs explore our relationship with architecture or urbanscape.


Samuel Baah Kortey's portraits feature hidden women figures of Ghana’s independence

struggle alongside contemporary heroines who may be lost to Ghana’s patriarchal historical

archives.


Ghizlane Sahli and Lisa C Soto’s installation create a network of plants whose chemical

residues synthesise nature right before our very eyes.


Jonathan Okoronkwo and Dela Anyah introduce us to the deconstructive web of machines,

with their wire capillaries, blood oils, and dark skins of synthetic rubber tires.


Jonathan Okoronkwo, We no go hear am sing again (Promise of unheard Symphonies), 2024, Used motor oil and liquefied steel on ply wood, 150 x 120 cm
Jonathan Okoronkwo, We no go hear am sing again (Promise of unheard Symphonies), 2024, Used motor oil and liquefied steel on ply wood, 150 x 120 cm

Afrane Makof presents us with the burden of being cyborgs; keeping company with

machines that estrange us or question our being as humans, confronting us with a reality in

which we may digitally enslave ourselves to AI.


Akosua Odeibea Amoah-Yeboah's droid monks that do not just dwell within the realms of

science, but animate religion as well; with a cyborg connecting itself simultaneously in three states of astral projection.


Phoebe Boswell and Denyse Gawu-Mensah have created intimate installations about their

loved ones and the memories that hold dear, through the ancestral and spiritual

connections that Boswell’s parents hold in parallel forests across the world and Gawu-Mensah’s grandfather’s cabinet.

Phoebe Boswell, (A Memory of The) Mother | A Longing To Wander, 2023, Moving image diptych, videos, projectors, screens, wood
Phoebe Boswell, (A Memory of The) Mother | A Longing To Wander, 2023, Moving image diptych, videos, projectors, screens, wood

Nyahan Tachie-Menson, Jasper Dafeamekpor, and Rosemary Esinam Damalie use textile forms as transformative textures: umbilical cords of synthetic wombs, histories with Adinkra, and Ghanaian synthetic hair culture, respectively.


Soundscapes by Boswell, Makof, and Dzidzor Azaglo create an ambience of plants, seas, and recitations of lost women figures throughout the history of Ghana and beyond.



About Gallery 1957

Gallery 1957 is a contemporary art gallery with spaces across Accra, Ghana and London, UK launched by Marwan Zakhem in 2016 on 6 March 1957.


The Gallery dedicates its programme to spearheading international exchanges between art practices from these communities and the rest of the world, presenting artists who interrogate concepts of belonging and identity, cultural exchange, and social history beyond Western narratives.



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