By John Owoo
(In Accra – Ghana)
An exhibition of paintings by Araba Opoku that relate to the current socio-economic turmoil facing Ghana is currently on show at Gallery 1957 in Accra.
Indeed, she paints psychological dreamscapes that delve into socio- economic problems with this particular body of work, which focusses on fetching water in the middle of the night – a daunting yet dreamlike cycle that appears in resonance with the moon.
Influenced by her current studies for a degree in Psychology at the University of Ghana, she embarked on a research that explored individual and familial effects on those deprived of basic needs, while commending their resilience and ability to withstand such shocks.
With her ethereal works largely in abstract formats, aquatic blues and vegetative greens, she subtly brings to the fore her formalized experience of collecting water – a familiarity she acquired in one of the sprawling neighborhoods in Accra.
Undeniably, this immersive show invites viewers on a sensory journey that starts with the artist’s ritualistic vigil and travels across the many moons of our solar system while investigating their origins and mythological namesakes.
Deriving her titles from Sci-Fi TV shows including the fantastical “Sandman”, “Stranger Things”, animated space opera “Final Space” and adult comedy “Rick and Morty” among others, Opoku manages to present science as a discipline shrouded in secrecy as we witness some form of communication between the creator, planets and galaxies.
While surveying a tradition of fetching water at midnight across generations, the artist takes into consideration the effects of moonlight, which is believed to energize and relieve stress while improving relaxation by prompting the natural release of melatonin.
Also on display is Opoku’s first video directed by Christine Boateng. Titled “Spiders Blanket”, it documented the sensory, insomniatic stages of midnight rising and water rationing with her sister.
The exhibition is being curated by Catherine Finerty.
