This evening actually just tops off a pretty wonderful last few days. I had asked last week if Kofi would take me to ArtHaus before I leave and on Tuesday we drove there. ArtHaus started out as Kofi's personal studio; he designed the house and built with three friends over 18 months. This was nearly 15 years ago. Since then its has been transformed into a multi-structure complex which is capable of housing group printmaking workshops, an artist-in-residence (complete with self-contained flat and studio space) and, from all accounts, some pretty amazing parties under a large tree in the middle of the garden. ArtHaus was also the home of the Nubuke Foundation until February 2009 when it moved into its current premises in East Legon. As we drove there the first substantial rain that I have seen here started to fall. It thundered onto our car as we wended our way down red mud tracks. The rain fell so hard that it puddled in every pot hole and the ground was so warm that it let out steam which mixed with the red dust and contrasted sharply with the polished green of the palm plantations. Arriving at ArtHaus I dashed for shelter under the verandah and surveyed the garden, a beautiful assemblage of fooliage, Kofi's mixed media sculptures, scrap metal awaiting transformation and bottles strung from the trees.
Kofi proceeded to show me around, first the artist-in-residence studio where I was able to look at all the fabrics that were printed and dyed at the PrintWear WorkShop event a few weeks ago, all of which will be displayed at the Goethe Institute in early September. There was such variety from beautiful abstract colours and rich patterning to comic sketches about business corruption and a lottery ticket design that looked like a never-ending mathematical equation. Hearing Kofi talk about the workshop I saw how inspiring it must have been to learn such techniques from him. He believes firmly that Ghanaian traditions are important but that they should not be static and to this end he has created whole new ways of combining dyes, batik and screen printing. The subtitle for the ArtHaus is 'Innovate With Us' and I soon understood why.
From here we dashed past his metal working area, past his fruit trees and macadamia plant, to his current studio, a high ceilinged airy structure with a mezzanine housing virgin canvases and paint pots. All around were huge, colourful canvases, some finished - like a painting evoking the tale of Icarus - whilst others were not yet signed (Kofi's final gesture). I was particularly drawn to a vibrant, abstracted canvas painted on coarse, jute grain sacks on which the word "Ghana" had been printed. Kofi left "Ghana" to shine through haze of colours and geometric forms; the work comments on the fact that such sacks, once made locally, are imported from the Far East, which Kofi finds entirely illogical. Amidst the chaos of market transaction the word "Ghana" appears like some stable signifier which is actually wholly misleading. A postmodern canvas indeed!
I wandered slowly around Kofi's studio, photographing everything from his brushes to his etching desk to a pile of dyed Ghachem papers which he hopes to do some sculpture with. Kofi is the master of appropriating and rejuvenating found materials. He smoothes rotten wood, polishes rusted metal and sculpts with scrap paper. I felt immensely privileged to be able to walk around the space where he works, ask any question and photograph freely.
After spending the morning at ArtHaus, we drove back to town and Kofi took me out for lunch. A veritable feast of yam chips and fried tilapia (I'm back on it, post-food poisoning), we washed it down with Star; for the past three weeks Kofi has said he wanted to drink beer with me...I just wasn't expecting it to be a Tuesday lunchtime. I then headed to the National Museum, where Amy works, to do some research on Ghanaian currency for a commission Odile has received for a London-based Ghanaian financial institution. The unit of currency here is the Cedi, a variation on the word "ceedee" meaning cowrie, the predominant mode of transaction pre-European contact. One of Amy's colleagues gave me a great introduction and I made some notes to take back.
At the end of the day, Amy and I wandered back home, via some markets and a FanIce cart. I think I mentionned the wonder that is FanIce before, Mister Whippy (soft serve for you yanks)-style ice cream in a bag! The carts are pushed all over by men who honk a clown horn endlessly (none of that vaguely creepy ice cream van music nonsense) and we all get excited when we hear it. Amy and I enjoyed a FanYogo this time, a delicious frozen portion of strawberry yoghurt, also in bag, of course. After dinner Amy and I went out for drinks and dinner (at Paloma on Ring Road) and continued our ongoing conversation about Ghanaian museum culture!
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