Arthur Timothy’s Paintings of Sierra Leone at Gallery 1957

The many-hued paintings of Sierra Leone by Ghana-born artist Arthur Timothy have arrived at Gallery 1957 in London.

In his latest exhibition Postcards from a Promised Land (9 December 2022–28 January 2023), Timothy’s paintings offer a nuanced perspective of the ongoing transformation the West African country has endured in his lifetime.

With warm tones and naturalistic hues permeating familial figures and local landscapes, Timothy tenderly unfolds his observations of a country in the aftermath of colonialism, the slave trade, and civil war.

In The Coconut Seller (2022), Timothy depicts a time spent at his grandmother’s house in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital and its largest city. The contrasting colour palette emphasises shadows cast by the powerful West African sun and gives zestful form to Timothy’s observations, sentiments, and experiences.

Curator Dr Kadija George Sesay remarked, ’The Way We Cross and The Coconut Seller have been portrayed from intriguing angles. From an overhead camera shot, the depiction of the story in The Way We Cross unravels as the couple hurry to church on foot. The Coconut Seller has been painted from an obtuse angle in an over-the-shoulder shot, and in doing so, fluidity of movement has been created in both paintings’.

Arthur Timothy will be in conversation with Hassan Aliyu and Dr Sesay on 12 December at SOAS University of London, as part of their Contemporary Artists’ Talk Series.

Main image: Arthur Timothy, Rogbonko (2022). 190 x 190 cm. Courtesy the artist and Gallery 1957, Accra/London.