2015 L’Atelier Merit Award winner, Gideon Appah exhibit is on at Absa Gallery
JOBURG – L'Atelier Merit Award winner shows his new work.
An inside look at life in the ghettos of Ghana at the gripping solo art exhibition of 2015 L’Atelier Merit Award winner, Gideon Appah, who useS mixed media, predominantly paint, salvaged objects, collage, mark-making and text to reflect the more gritty side of the world around him in one of Africa’s most vibrant and dynamic capital cities, Ghana.
“I draw inspiration from temporary and permanent mark-makings, which I find interesting in their own subtlety. A lot of the content I use is gathered from townships in Ghana. Items that are scattered around the country,” Appah explained.
In bringing this array of everyday objects to life, he first photographs the images, downloads them and then arranges them in a layered collage on the canvas, using paint, charcoal and other mediums to add depth and body. He then scratches through the prepared surface while it’s still wet to reveal the marks, text, lettering and visuals underneath, creating palimpsests of imagery that appear to have been ‘washed down’ with time.
His works are a metaphor between abstract painting and the visual world and act as a commentary on his personal thoughts on the nature of the deterioration of Accra’s urban landscape.
Appah’s highly original pieces reflect themes around intimacy, wealth, satisfaction and pleasure because, he says, these are the often downplayed realities of ghetto or slum living, especially in Accra and similar cities throughout Africa.
Read: Solo exhibition at Absa Gallery
“I sought to magnify these issues and give them a voice,” he added. “I had a very lively experience in one of Ghana’s most infamous slums, Sodom and Gomorrah in Accra and following that found a burning desire to ‘paint’ a different picture of my roots, transubstantiating that beauty out of decay in some way.”
It is a snapshot of these works that visitors can expect to see in Between a life and its dream (Scrawl paintings), which comprises a series of works on paper and works on canvas. The exhibition forms part of Appah’s prize for winning the Merit Award in the 2015 L’Atelier art competition and is another example of how the competition seeks to further the profile and exposure of the young and emerging artists who participate in this renowned event.
The exhibition runs from 19 March to 20 April at the Absa Gallery in Johannesburg.
