Institute for the Humanities Annual Report, 2020-21

Page 18

IN-BETWEEN THE WORLD AND DREAMS Ibrahim Mahama

GALLERY

Innovative exhibitions and arts programming

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Ibrahim Mahama is an inter­na­tion­ally known Ghana­ian artist and direc­tor of the Savan­ nah Cen­ter for the Arts in Tamale, Ghana. Mahama uses the transformation of materials to explore themes of commodity, migration, globalisation and economic exchange. Often made in collaboration with others, his large-scale installations employ materials gathered from urban environments, such as remnants of wood, or jute sacks which are stitched together and draped over architectural structures. Mahama’s interest in material, process and audience first led him to focus on jute sacks that are synonymous with the trade markets of Ghana where he lives and works. Fabricated in South East Asia, the sacks are imported by the Ghana Cocoa Boards to transport cocoa beans and eventually end up as multi-functional objects, used for the transportation of food, charcoal and other commodities. “You find different points of aesthetics within the surface of the sacks’ fabric,” Mahama has said. “I am interested in how crisis

In-Between The World and Dreams by Ibrahim Mahama at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

18


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.