Serge Attukwei Clottey on fashion, gender, and unexpected art

In captivating new portraits for ‘Beyond Skin’, Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey explores fashion as identity and subverts antiquated ideas of gender and sexuality 

BY PEI-RU KEH

LAST UPDATED OCTOBER 12, 2022

Inspired by mid-century black and white photography originating from the coast of West Africa, Clottey’s works update the visual language of historical images and transports them into the present day.

He's building a real-life yellow brick road without any bricks

Updated 22nd May 2022

Written by Jacopo Prisco

"Yellow Brick Road" is meant to symbolize the resilience of the community and also the issue of property rights. Credit: Nii Odzenma/Courtesy the artist and Gallery 1957

"My family migrated from Jamestown to Labadi and they were traveling on the coast. They were trading alcohol and beef, and based on the trade relationship my family had with the people of labor, they got a place to settle, and it was a verbal agreement. There was no documentation," he said on African Voices.

By Jori Finkel

Published March 12, 2021

Clottey’s humble choice of material speaks to the droughts and water supply issues that threaten Southern California as well as his native Ghana. He cuts plastic pieces from so-called Kufuor gallons, colorful containers used in Ghana for storing water, and stitches them together with wire.

Coachella Officials Have Rejected a Proposal for an Ambitious Desert X Artwork, Claiming It Would ‘Exploit’ Local Plight for Tourism

This isn't the first time locals have voiced objections to a Desert X proposal.

Sarah Cascone, January 6, 2021

Desert X, Southern California’s Coachella Valley art biennial, has always confronted environmental themes head on, using the harsh desert landscape to speak to global concerns about climate change.

But during preparations for the event’s third edition, Coachella natives took umbrage with a planned installation about water insecurity by Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey.

Ten photographs marking the 10th anniversary of access to water and sanitation being declared a human right by the UN have been commissioned from 10 visual artists by the charity WaterAid to show the impact of clean water on people’s lives.

Globally, 785 million people – one in 10 – still lack access to water close to home and 2 billion people – one in four – don’t have a toilet of their own.

Tomorrow’s World by Serge Attukwei Clottey (Ghana)

“I wanted to create art that would represent the anguish and violence that go along with our planet’s problems. People do not realise how their own suffering is tied to the environment: to their long trip to fetch water, or their discomfort under the heat when the streets have no trees. Ghana is facing some of the most detrimental consequences from climate change and water shortages. Yet the government does nothing, so I have taken it upon myself to educate through art.”

This Artist Is Wearing His Mother’s Clothing to Promote Social Change in Ghana

BY CHIOMA NNADI

Ghanaian Independence Day falls on March 6 and last year artist Serge Attukwei Clottey marked the occasion with a boundary-pushing act of self-liberation. He walked through the streets of Accra, the nation’s capital, in his deceased mother’s clothes with members of his art collective—also in their mothers’ clothing—marching by his side in solidarity. Wearing vibrantly printed traditional dress, the mostly male crew drew hundreds of onlookers out of their homes and onto the street, sending shockwaves through Ghanaian society where the conversation around gender fluidity is only just beginning to open up and homosexuality is illegal.

Serge Attukwei Clottey walked through Ghana’s capital city in his dead mother’s clothes to honour her memory – and to highlight injustice against women. It is the latest step in his art collective’s mission to create social change

Technology Expands the World for African Artists

By Ginanne Brownell Mitic

March 24, 2016

The Ghanaian artist Serge Attukwei Clottey said that thanks to the Internet, where he posts his artistic productions on his Instagram account, he not only was offered — and took — the chance to study in Brazil but he also was contacted by one of his future collectors, who is based in California.

“I think technology helps African artists to reach many people in the global art space,” he said by email. “For example, I’ve been getting many residency opportunities from all over the world because people always see my work online.”