AfroGallonism
In 2017/2018 I lived in Tamale, Ghana for about six months. During daily life in Ghana I noticed that ‘yellow gallons’ were spread through the whole country, currently the gallons are used to transport water. If I go back to my memories of Ghana; images of yellow gallons haunt me. Ghana felt like a home and since my homecoming, I guess, I suffered some kind of ‘homesickness’. I ate, slept and breathed Ghanaian artists and during this time I fell in love with work by - in Accra’s born artist - ‘Serge Attukwei Clottey’ (born 1985).
Serge Attukwei Clottey investigates the power from everyday objects. His work is usually inspired by personal experiences, histories of trade and migration, and political - and environmental related issues or topics. Among other projects, he is the mastermind behind the artistic project ‘AfroGallonism’. Afrogallonism points out miscellaneous issues and questions connected to the yellow gallons.
What are yellow gallons? Yellow gallons are oil containers brought from Europe to West-Africa and nowadays the gallons are still visible in West-Africa’s daily life. In Ghana the gallons are mostly used for transporting water. There is barrenly storage space, because - with other plastic, cars or further garbage - there are many yellow gallons brought to West-Africa. Serge Attukwei Clottey started to create artworks by connecting cutted pieces of yellow gallon. He also describes this as a way of finding a solution for the gallon overload. Among other things, the yellow gallons became a symbol for my lovely stay in Ghana. When I discovered Attukwei’s AfroGallonism project, it was love at first sight. By the ‘AfroGallonism’ project, I discovered that the object itself isn’t only a symbol for me, but also for Serge Attukwei Clottey. His project made me aware of the history and issues that the yellow gallon symbolizes. Among other things, the yellow gallon in AfroGallonism recapitulates economic - and consumption issues and shows - still existing - influences from Europe and America in Ghana.
Every time I explore his projects I become more amazed by his work. Nowadays there are around 100 people involved in the project. He educated his community and created jobs. Every time I explore his projects I become more amazed by his work: lately, he carpets the road with his work to mark the area that belongs to his family. This project refers to poor communities that can’t proof land ownership due to a lack of proper documentation (Kylie Kiunguyu, 2018). What do I like so much about his work? Attukwei’s work presents opportunities and finding solutions for certain issues in a positive and creative way. That’s something I personally embrace. Source images: https://www.instagram.com/afrogallonism/?hl=nl