Adjei Tawiah (b.1987)
Anklet II, 2021
He is a Ghanaian artist living and working in Accra. Using a technique, he calls ‘sponge martial’ – an approach inspired by the experience of watching his mother’s body being cleansed in a mortuary and evoking a figurative cleansing of negative thought processes – he creates brightly coloured yet delicately textured portraits across mixed media. @adjeitawaiah
Red on Black, 2021/White Window, 2021
Adjei formally trained at the Ghanatta College of Art and Design in Accra, Ghana. He is into portraiture and figurative painting, but what draws me closer to his work is his use of authentic materials and his defined style, which set him apart from many other figurative artists. He uses sponge to clothe his powerful subjects, creating colorful, delicately textured portraits across mixed media. He calls this his “sponge martial” technique. I believe attention should be paid to this work, and that people should make space for it.