Decolonising Africa — in high heels
Cape Town-based artist Lhola Amira’s video documenting her journey to Ghana has been selected for the Loop Barcelona art fair, writes Valeria Geselev
Coming late to the independence party, South Africans tend to look for inspiration in countries with a longer post-colonial record. In pan-African circles, Ghana is fetishised as a freedom role model, being the first sub-Saharan country to be set free from colonial rule. This sentiment, powered by the fact that Ghana celebrates 60 years of freedom in 2017, motivated the mysterious and provocative Cape Town-based artist Lhola Amira to visit Accra. After 10 days’ exploration and months of postproduction, Amira presented souvenirs from her Ghanaian experience in a constellation at SMAC Gallery in Stellenbosch. It was her first solo exhibition at home. After numerous residencies on three continents, Ghana was her first destination in Africa. Entitled Looking for Ghana and the Red Suitcase, her work included an extended series of photographs, a video and an installation. She worked with Ghanaian artists while documenting her journey. "Through this visit, the artist tackled her own ideas ...
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