Sankofa

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By Joshua Donkor
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£7,500.00

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Dimensions (HxWxD):

120 × 100 × 3 cm

Materials:

Oil paint, graphite and image transfers on canvas.

Primary Medium:

Oil Painting

Medium
2024
Signed on Front
Ready to display
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Sankofa Taking inspiration from German romantic painter Friedrich’s “Wanderer above the sea fog”. This painting presents my Father standing on a rock surveying his family’s land in Ghana as he is surrounded by memories from the past colliding with the present. This painting is an exploration of merging cultures and the new futures built on the foundations of our past. The natural world offers so many interesting parallels to paths our own lives take. The process of constant regeneration with new branches forming is paralleled within generations of family and stories of diaspora. This was at the heart of this work and the images embedded within it showing the crossovers between my mother and fathers families and cultures throughout the years. The title Sankofa refers to the Twi word from the Akan Tribe of Ghana that loosely translates to, “go back and get it.” Its literal translation comes from the Akan proverb, "Se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenkyiri," meaning, "It is not taboo to go back for what you forgot (or left behind)." For me this idea relates to the histories and lessons from my Grandparents which have gone on to influence how my parents lead their own lives which is then in turn passed down to the following generations. The family farm information My family in Ghana have a plot of land in Koforidua which has been used throughout the generations as a family farm. My Grandparents used the land to grow everything from plantain, oranges…………… I grew up listening to my Dads stories of his childhood, many of which were set on this very farm. He had so many stories about the trouble he and his brothers would get up to and the various creatures he encountered. Especially as a young child these stories felt almost mystical to me. The farm was an essential place not only for my Dad and his family but for some of the wider community as well. Much of the produce grown would be shared around with the locals as my Grandparents always sought to support and care for those around them. However as they grew older and eventually passed away the land and produce also withered. In recent years it has become my Fathers passion project to restore the land and regenerate the farm. My trio to Ghana in 2021 was the first time I was able to visit for myself and retrace the stories I had grown up hearing about. With all of the history and stories that the farm represented it felt like an ideal backdrop for many of the stories I tell through my paintings.

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