Kente fabric has been woven on the west coast of Africa for 3,000 years. Traditionally used for the robes of Asante leaders, its vibrant patterns became symbolic of the Ghanaian and pan-African independence movements led by Kwame Nkrumah in the 1950s. The young Ghanaian photographer Derrick Ofosu Boateng weaves many of the associations of that history into his photographs. The man in this picture wears a kente that was part of a recent exhibition at the Amba Gallery in Accra. The background colours borrow the joy of that robe. On his Instagram feed, Boateng comments that: “This smile makes life more beautiful. Glad to share this smile with the world.”
Boateng first used his Instagram account for pictures of himself modelling the traditional and vintage clothing he loved. He realised, however, that people were liking and following him more for his photography than his modelling. He takes his inspiration from the streets and market places outside his door in Accra, and then uses friends to bring his ideas to life. The collaborative process is important, he argues, because western photographers have long come to African cities and taken pictures without the consent of the people in them. News outlets often depicted Ghana and Africa in a negative way, he said in a recent interview with the Homecoming Gallery, and failed to “shine a light on the energy, power, immense creativity and pride that’s also embedded in our culture”.
Boateng sees his pictures – on display with Homecoming gallery at the Photo London fair this week – as part of a creative explosion of Ghanaian culture that includes musicians such as Kelvyn Boy and B4bonah, and diaspora fashion leaders such as Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, and the late Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton. “There’s a feeling of opportunity in Accra,” he suggests, “like we’re a new hotbed of creativity – like Paris in the 1920s.”
