GROUP EXHIBITION

Cloth across the African continent is as much a historical manuscript as it is functional.

Ghana, located on the western shores of Africa and known as the ‘Gold Coast’, has Her own story woven between the fibres of cotton, rayon and silk. Weavers work with looms, producing Kente and carrying forward the tradition of craftsmanship to keep Her story alive, the stories of thousands of people alive.

The forthcoming group exhibition, ‘Joy Comes in the Morning’, centres the Ghanaian artists Daniel Nartey, James Mishio, Emmanuel Kwaku Yaro, Michael Gah and Prof. Ablade Glover, each with their own unique form of artistry.

Nartey, Gah, Yaro and Mishio utilise textiles in their artwork, giving them a second chance. Prof. Glover’s medium is paint, yet the finesse of his impasto technique creates a similar tactility to the textiles and fibres woven into Yaro’s work and used on the canvases of Nartey, Mishio and Gah.

The privilege of globalisation has taught us that, as a global community, we are a diverse people. The languages we speak and the traditions we choose to preserve or not preserve are different. As individuals, the sociogenic factors that influence the way we perceive the world around us are different. What makes us tick is different. That which lights a fire in our bellies, or causes our breath to hitch in our throats from pleasure or desire, is different.

There is beauty in the coexistence of diversity, making life so much more abundant. Ultimately, amidst our many differences, the golden thread running through me, you and the rest of the world is our capacity to feel.

Emotions are a universal language which we all understand. We laugh. We cry. We grieve our losses and celebrate our wins. We feel elated and joyfulness.

When referring to ‘joy’, exhibiting artist Michael Gah states that “those who have it always want more and those who don’t have it keep chasing it.”

In a time of rising disconnection and desensitisation, ‘Joy in the Morning’ explores the silently grounded aspect of joy, the part we need to continue to grow and nurture to combat the storm.