'KPEHE' Art In Action 3 at the Dubois centre, Accra, Ghana , 15th -29th May 2004 |
The Dubois Centre for Pan African Culture, in association with the newly formed Foundation for Contemporary Art-Ghana, is hosting from the 15th until the 29th May 2004 the third ART IN ACTION exhibition.
see Art in Action 2002 ClickHere
Art in Action was founded in Accra (Ghana) in the year 2002 by artist Samuel Olou and Professor Joe Nkrumah. Art in action is about People and Society, says Olou, and hopes to encourage exchanges among Artists. In this show, entitled Kpehe ('rendezvous') that is exactly what's happening. The diverse nature of the work produced with artists from as far afield as Japan, America, Venezuela, Morroco, Great Britain and Italy meets contemporary counterparts from West Africa.
The exhibitors often aim to challenge prevailing attitudes, as in pieces such as 'Educational Imbalance ' by Akitash from Ghana,or the ecological piece made of transparent plastic water bags by Japanese artist Sakita, recently in Ghana as part of the Arthaus Project.
Sakita solves the problem of such refuse by creating sublimely elegant 'totems' - simple metal poles - upon which each plastic bag is thrust until becoming a small tower that shines and glistens in the natural light, transforming litter into beauty. The city of Accra should have one such 'Enviromnental Protector' ,as he calls them, on each street corner.
Landscape is alive in the painterly, romantic Spirit of the Forest by Rikki Wemega Kwahu, or in an image of a more dangerous 'place' - (middle East borderlines, from the series 'Password') in the photo etching/aquatint by Lilie Gendler Talmor. The force of the Ancestors is apparent in Suma Glory's installation, Hall of Fame, and the sublime poetry of organic life in Kofi Dawson's installations such as 'Ants Nest'.
ants nest
Luciano Ghersi, an Italian artist and philosopher who has collaborated for years with the weavers of Klikor in Ghana also creates a performance with the Genedegbeto troupe around one of their latest pieces - a Woven Map of Africa.
In Kpehe, a mix of the well established such as Kofi Setorgdi, Sam Olou and Kola J. meet foreign artists living in Ghana such as Oliver, Parker Burns, Monfreda, El Mhrani and R. Talmor (whose deeply moving digital tryptych, The Space Between, has the viewer contemplating the yearning nature of words which link deeply with the image of a desk in a room, somewhere far away.....)
Keith Monfreda's large splash of blue painting containing one small human figure dialogues with Parker Buns set of rich figurative works on the opposite wall - of friends and acquintances in various convivial meetings in Accra bars and hotels. Kwadwo Ani (Big Eye) also packs a punch with 'Exultation', a crowd of eyes open wide and arms outstreched, as if in some political/neo-spiritual gathering.
Its' exciting to see the fresh vitality in the large open-plan space, used for the first time to exhibit art-work. The organisers are to be commended for putting togehter such a varied and thought-provoking show of some of the best work being produced presently in Ghana. You can tell, also that there is a quality heightening as artists find each other and true, creative dialogue begins.
| participating artists: Rikki Wemega Kwahu – GHANA, Kwadwo Ani (Big Eye) – GHANA , Joseph Kola – NIGERIA, Luciano Ghersi – ITALY with Genedegbeto Troupe – GHANA, Gabriel Eklou – GHANA, Traore – TOGO, Kem (Khadija El Mhrani) – MOROCCO, Ruti Talmor – VENEZUELA, Akwele Suma Glory – GHANA, Julian Parker-Burns – USA, Akirash (Akindiya O.) – GHANA, Pierre Garel – FRANCE, Lihie Gendler Talmor – VENEZUELA, Pierre Nikiema – BURKINA FASO, Enyo Dackey – TOGO, Keith Monfreda – USA Bolaji Aremu – NIGERIA, Lihie Gendler Talmor – VENEZUELA, John Oliver – UK, Kofi Setordji – GHANA, Sakata – JAPAN, Adwowa Ammah Tagoe GHANA Samuel Olou -TOGO/GHANA |
19-5-2004 photographs and review by Virginia Ryan, artist and writer, www.virginiaryan.com