Ghanaian Artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo Creates Haunting Sculptures of Slaves

In memory of African ancestors who drowned as they were being transported across the Atlantic Ocean as slaves, his Ancestor Project portrays Africans who were imprisoned, kidnapped or coerced into slavery. According to BBC News Africa, using the ancient Akan tradition of creating portraits of the dead, Akoto-Bamfo wants to show people how great their community was before slavery. The Ancestor Project seeks to use art and performance to empower, educate and promote an interest in African heritage among the youth. Akoto-Bamfo created the pseudo-art movement. His outdoor sculpture dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Transatlantic slave trade is on display at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice that opened in 2018 in Montgomery, Alabama. The work is directly connected to a larger installation of the same name made up of more than 1 500 portraits of Africans in the diaspora.

SOURCE: IOL