Nkyinkyim: A Means of Raising Awareness about the History of Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and a Means of Dialogue Between Africans and African Diaspora
This article explores the artistic project of the Ghanaian artist, Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, entitled “the Ancestor Project”. Started in 2009, it aims to document the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery through sculpture. The project gained momentum in 2017 with the Nkyinkyim installation at Cape Coast...
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| Veröffentlicht in: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/angles, |
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| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Format: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Sprache: | Anglais |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Angles
2025
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| Online Zugang: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Zusammenfassung: | This article explores the artistic project of the Ghanaian artist, Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, entitled “the Ancestor Project”. Started in 2009, it aims to document the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery through sculpture. The project gained momentum in 2017 with the Nkyinkyim installation at Cape Coast Castle. Examining the Ancestor Project, I argue that the Nkyinkyim installation and the museum of the same name “Nkyinkyim Museum”, go beyond the objective of documenting the tragedy of the slave trade and of slavery, by paying homage to Africans who were trafficked and taken into alien territories. Through art, Akoto-Bamfo unearths the past history of slavery and forces the onlookers, no matter where they come from, to grapple with the physical, psychological and emotional trauma, the sense of loss, and the terror imposed on humanity by slavery. Unsettled with facial expressions captured by the skillfully sculpted heads, the viewer is left to contend with the dehumanization caused by systems of domination and to recognize the humanity of the captives. In a context of silence regarding the history of Trans-Atlantic slavery and internal servitude, and of poor education and awareness on those issues, the sculpted heads offer a new narrative from an African perspective that spurs genuine critical thinking about the past and its consequences on the present. Akoto-Bamfo’s collaboration with the African American art curator Daniel Dunson on the Nkyinkyim installation transcends somehow the blurred boundary and the tension opposing, sometimes, some Africans and some descendants of enslaved Africans on the issue of the slave trade, especially the disputed role played by some African kingdoms, queendoms, chieftaincies and individuals. In fact, in addition to condemning the white supremacist root of the African plight and predicament, the Ghanaian artist calls on Africans to atone for their faults. Bearing in mind the complicated relations between Africans and the descendants of enslaved Africans, the Nkyinkyim installation and Nkyinkyim Museum participate in creating networks and platforms for Africans and the Diaspora, and even to some degree for non-Africans, to come into a real dialogue and to address the broader issue of slavery and structures of domination. This necessarily contributes to strengthening the ties between Africans and the Diaspora. |
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