Bright Ackwerh: My art and I

Bright Ackwerh, 28, is a Ghanaian satirical illustrator who is on the 2017 list of top 10 artists in the Barclays L’Atelier Art Competition.  He trained at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana as a painter and sculptor and is known for his caricatures of world leaders including Nigeria’s President Buhari. 

When did you decide to do satirical art?

In 2006, I made some lighthearted experiments with caricature art. I enjoyed it but didn’t know the potential it would hold for me. Fast forward to 2012 when I was considering pursuing a Masters degree my life was heavily rocked by some tough government reforms in Ghana and that was when I decided to experiment again with satirical art. Due to the inherent power it had to do with social and political commentary. Also my observations with my earlier experiments meant that I knew what to do to engage audiences in some newer and exciting ways. 

Why did you choose cartoons as your medium and not another form?

Many of the issues that affect us as humans are often rooted in very touchy and almost unmentionable structures. A lot of the heat that comes as responses to interrogating these structures has deterred more inquisitions into them. So approaching them now from a cartoony or funny point of view meant people were inspired to laugh first before thinking through the commentary and questions. 

What’s happened to the sculptor side of you?

The knowledge has immeasurably improved my conception of spaces and how I can inhabit them with my work or without. In today’s art discourse where clear cut boundaries between the disciplines almost don’t exist, transferring and applying the knowledge in other experiments are also key to creating newer expressions to excite my audiences.  

How have your works been received?

I believe I have grown with my audience who cut across a vast demographic. I think there is a little bit of something in my work for every kind art consumer. So with the constant audience interaction I am building a solid brand for my art. It is a work in progress and I am enjoying every bit of the journey so far. To attest to it in 2016 I was named recipient of The Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Ghanaian art which is the most prestigious art prize in Ghana for emerging artists like I. A year on in 2017 I also made the top 10 list of artists in the Barclays L’atelier Art Competition which is one of the biggest artist platforms on the continent. My practice was also highlighted and featured in the October edition of CNN’s African Voices. Prior to these however is the growing interest in my work in the internet space and on social media platforms too. I have had my work shown in blockbuster exhibitions by Blaxtarlines Kumasi in 2016 and 2017, at Chalewote Street Art festival since 2014 and at ARTXLAGOS in 2016. I have also participated in group shows home in Accra, in Johannesburg, Paris, Los Angeles and at the FNB Joburg Art Fair in 2016 and 2017. All these for me are testaments of the progress being made and what will come if I keep improving and pushing my limits.

What is the main theme/subject your works address?

My paintings cut across a myriad of subjects but my focus now is presenting my worldview as a young Ghanaian living in Accra. A lot of my curiosities and fantasies about my experience of the world is embedded in my art. I often look at popular culture too for my inspiration. 

Please tell us the story behind your favourite piece?

My favourite work if I have one is what I am currently working on. It is not done yet, so all I can tell you about it, is what I intend to call it ‘Nativity Scene, 2017.’ Let me tell you however about my painting called ‘The Sons Tear’ which is one of my most well received artworks till date. It captures the then American president Barrack Obama on his knees begging for forgiveness from his assumed father Muammar Gaddafi after British and American backed forces had him ousted. The painting itself alludes to a biblical parable of a prodigal son and even without words it was critically acclaimed by so many people who also felt the need to present what remains one of the most infamous narratives in global politics and one which Obama himself apologised for.

You seem to love President Buhari. You have him replicated in a good number of your works as you have President Mugabe. Is there anything you find particularly interesting working with these two figures?

Is there anything not to like about these two characters – two elder statesmen from Africa? They are like your well-seasoned uncles and grandfathers packaged with all their human flaws. (Laughter) 

Nigeria alone for me presents Africa its most readily available resource in capital to become independent and a true decider of its own fate. So why won’t the person at the helm of this responsibility interest me as a student of the world?

Mugabe for me becomes a symbol of defiance from Africa even in the way he unapologetically articulates his political ideologies on the biggest world stages. Also physically his very wrinkled frame presents a good exercise any figurative artist wouldn’t shy away from capturing.

You are also known for your caricatures of entertainment figures. In what context do you use them?

In today’s pop culture-driven world, influence becomes currency and no one wields this power more than entertainment figures. One only has to study the advertisement patterns to realize how the big machine uses these characters to push its narratives. In my work I look to do similarly. Popular faces are easily recognized and become archetypes of different character traits which are more of what I wish to discuss in my art. Actors represent particular roles best after playing them on the big screen for a number of times and so I cast them for the same roles in my art. Same applies for musicians and just other influential characters.

How efficiently have you used street art to propagate your works and messages?

In the past I experimented with graffiti painting. I still dabble with the medium every now and then but lately I have taken an interest in street poster display. I think street posters play a very integral role in engaging with and spreading information to marginalized people who may not have easy access to conventional media like TV, radio, art museums and galleries or the internet. For experiments targeted at engaging these audiences, making street posters and camouflaging them with those of religious and political narratives becomes a possibility. I have made a few experiments in this light and it’s a project I am currently building on. The gesture itself comments also on the art establishment and the canons of display it legitimizes.

Have you suffered any backlash as a result of your work?

I call those responses and are indicators that the people who I send messages to receive them and are somewhat shaped by my enquiry. The most interesting one for me was early this year. The Chinese diplomatic community in Ghana wrote a strong-worded letter to the Ghanaian presidency and the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources crying foul over some media reportage. One of my paintings commented on what is a very curious and disturbing trend of Chinese nationals in Ghana engaging in a lot of illegal activities which have destroyed almost all the rivers and cocoa farm lands in Ghana. One has even been charged with murdering a young Ghanaian man who went to him to demand pay for services rendered. 

What gives you the drive to want to do the next satirical piece?

The knowledge that I am contributing actively to shaping people’s perceptions now and contributing to later history. Also that I am sharing my mind with the next person through a language as open as art. I believe through mine and other artists’ questions, answers would be provided and our experience of the world will be changed for the better.

What’s your favourite work material?

I love painting with acrylic and also on my Wacom graphics tablet with Adobe Photoshop. I am also excited about making drawings on a new Samsung Note 8. I think these new technologies have come to extend what materiality in painting has meant over the years.

How well would you say African artists have been able to merge their creations with business?

African artists have always done well with doing art business. I however believe different artists have different goals for their practice and even in the field of selling or collecting art, studying the patterns of the important auction houses will show you artists of African descent are not performing badly as compared to their other peers. Soon we also hope to enter into these spaces and do our part actively.

What next from here?

My preoccupation now is with preparing work for exhibitions and also trying to get my work into artist’s workshop and residencies. I am open to the growth these experiences will have for my art. I live to learn.