Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Sarah Johnson

‘People cry, get angry’: remembering the enslaved in Ghana’s remarkable sculpture park

Clay heads and torsos submerged in a green pond
The Ancestor Project at Nkyinkyim Museum in Ghana. Each head takes up to three weeks to complete and many are likenesses of real people. Photograph: Keelson Studio/The Guardian

At the end of a sandy path, lined with bamboo trees, lies a clearing with thousands of clay head sculptures. One is of a woman whose hair is half done, another shows a man blindfolded. Some heads have masks signifying royalty. In a small pond are dozens more sculptures, some with shackles round their necks.

Each head placed at the Nykyinkyim Museum in Ghana represents someone who was enslaved and taken from the continent of Africa by Europeans to face a life of struggle, brutality and death.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.