TESTIMONIES FROM ARTSTS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE All the Art asked artists to tell our readers what messages they hope to convey through their art practices; what makes them see their art practice as an effective way to communicate those messages and who they intend to reach. The responses were as varied as the colors available when blending primary paints. Yvonne Osei: As an artist with a socio-political conscience and a keen interest in intercontinental affairs, I am invested in creating visuals that articulate various issues relating to the human condition. My aim is for my work to transcend myself, to provoke an amalgamation of thoughts, historical accounts, points of view and multiple understandings of life.
colonialism in post-colonial West Africa and Western cultures. Through my art, my hope is for viewers to decipher and question unilateral colonial narratives, to cultivate a boldness to challenge fragmented historical accounts, to reassess current power structures, and to dissect suppressive value systems that have taken a strong root in their respective societies.
My art practice is devoted to dissecting standards of beauty, the politics of clothing, colorism, complexities associated with global trade, and the residual implications of
I come from the Ashanti Kingdom of Ghana, a culture where art functions synergistically with life. In this Kingdom, artifacts are used as extensions of human presence and existence,
aiding in communicating specific messages to specific individuals at specific places and times. My reverence for the potency of art to convey multilayered, complex and intangible information with such beauty, simplicity and precision comes from witnessing the use of art in the Ashanti culture. In my own practice, I strive for opportunities to “activate” the public. In many cases, I see the act of viewership and the presence of an audience as a crucial part of the art process itself as it adds a conceptual layer to my work. I will often encourage passive viewers to transition to active participants or collaborators in my art, forming part of the DNA of the work and allowing for an in-depth understanding of my art practice. As visual beings, the power of images function as a blessing and a curse in disguise. Through our sense of sight, we are quick to conclude that people and things are as simple as they physically seem. My role as an artist is to ensure that we tap into the reward that visuals bring by providing constant shifts in the way viewers see, and fostering a yearning for deeper observations into our world. My work provides a platform for conversation geared towards bridging social gaps, echoing perspectives of the other, presenting viewpoints and historical accounts in the visual tongue of the colonized and the oppressed. My hope is for my art to usher in legible visual forms that bring new insights, comparative thoughts, and meaningful observations to various issues of global concern.
Yvonne Osei, Insidiuos III, Elmina Castle, Ghana, video still, (image courtesy of the artist)
Sonia Slankard:
COMMENTARY
Why not leave these houses to rot and die? Why not divert your eye to the ground, the screen or anything in between so that we do not have to see the world around us crumble down, so we don’t have to acknowledge the painful truth, that we have been abandoned. What does abandoned property mean?
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Am I abandoned property? If I am surrounded by this despair, is there anybody out there, anyone who cares? Along comes art, with a spark, with a bold craving for change, with an overwhelming desire to make a difference in whatever way possible. To sooth the suffering with a splash of joy.
COMMENTARY
To redefine what goes through the mind, and that’s my role, as the artist, giving a gift of courage, given the spark of an idea, given the power to take action and make an idea come to life. When I see a blank board, it is a canvas. If I see a flat surface, I want to paint on it. When I see a child anywhere in the world, I want them to not suffer, to not feel despair.
