Friday Focus: Michael Gah
Accra born-and-based, contemporary artist Michael Gah is one of Ghana’s most exciting contemporary portraitists. His medium is equally intriguing – fashioning larger-than-life and hyper coloured figurative works using strips of endemic fabrics, the hugely colourful and patterned textiles that are intertwined with the very heart of womanhood in the modern African context. His pieces are a challenge – to social norms for women in Africa and indeed to contemporary art and figurative work; working with fabric and collaging has long been the realm of crafters and his potent portraits are frank in their delivery.
Gah cites not only his mother, but all modern African women, as his inspiration – his faceless (though no less personality-laden) subjects defy traditional ‘African expectations’. They are represented as thoroughly modern muses engaged in social and even romantic activities, that answer only to their own whims and certainly not to the stifling belief systems thrust upon them for eons. The poses are provocative in that they are a far cry from the head and shoulders ‘African Woman’ figurative work, so commonplace on the continent in 20th century art. Gah’s work also references social media and the modern day importance of Instagram reality and camera facing messaging.
The power in Gah’s portraits lies in the intentional tension between past and present and a suggestion that eradication of repressive expectations is inevitable and crucial. The use of traditional fabrics insists on the viewer's mindfulness about outdated norms, while still appreciating the gifts and weight of the past.
Can you tell me about your practice? How do you get started on a piece of work?
I start my works by first making a sketch of figures I call ‘’ worry free figures’’, these are figures of my friends, family members and people I am mostly inspired by. I then spend time with these pictures to get the most ideas out of them, deciding which fabrics to choose and where the different types of fabrics and colours will fit, deciding on the combinations before I start. I also like to work on multiple works at the same time.
Who or what are your biggest influences?
I am greatly inspired by my mother, also all great mothers out there.
Your focus on African women rejecting repressive expectations and self defining their future appears hugely inspirational within your work, can you talk further about this?
Being greatly inspired by my mother, my pieces are a challenge to the social norms for women in Africa. I see all modern women as my inspiration, and all humans as beautiful creatures, regardless of our own emotional complexities.
The choice of colours in my artwork are very key, I can boldly say, it’s a gift from God, because I’m able to combine these fabrics to create depth and textures just as a painter will lay down his colours, and I always love the outcome.
I would say the tool I can’t do without is my special scissors, the scissors are to me, like a brush in the hands of a painter. As a kid I was always cutting stuff up when growing up, so I am very skilful when it comes to using the scissors.
I read anything and everything about art, but what has really helped my career is listening to documentation about artists and art talks.
Finally, is there anything new coming up that you would like to tell us about?
I am so happy about my current solo exhibition Beautiful Creation in Cape Town, South Africa, with Christopher Moller Gallery.