Known for his work on recycled materials, Mahama is transforming a British Landmark, the Barbican Centre
Located in London, the capital of Great Britain, Mahama has covered the building with 2,000 m² of magenta fabric made of jute bags.
The 37-year-old in an interview with the BBC News revealed that he turned to local experts in northern Ghana near his studio in Tamale, to weave and sew this project on a colossal scale.
During three months, a team of 1,000 people hand-stitched 2,000 square metres of striped cotton, decorating it with 130 traditional smocks known as batakari.
Purple Hibiscus and Mahama’s other large-scale public art installations reference the power of collective labour and the memories that textiles contain.
Jute sacks – used to transport cocoa, rice and charcoal – were draped over the National Theatre in Accra, Ghana’s capital city. It was Mahama’s way of exploring the history of trade in commodities and globalisation.
His latest project at the Barbican showcases a typically Ghanaian item he has been collecting since 2012.
Its objective is to denounce the flaws of globalization by sewing together these bags that have been used worldwide to transport cocoa, rice, or coal.
The Ghanaian is not his first attempt with this creation entitled “Purple Hibiscus”.
–Braperucci.Africa
