Emmanuel Taku Ghana, b. 1986

A graduate of the Ghanatta Institute of Art and Design, Emmanuel Taku studied with well-known figurative painters Amoako Boafo and Otis Quaicoe, and has been practicing different forms of portraiture for more than ten years. His subjects are often clothed in striking floral prints, applied using a distinct silk screen method. He incorporates a variety of materials including textiles, newspaper, fiberglass, fiber net, mesh, and plywood.

A nod to Malick Sidibé, the artist combines his focus on portraiture with a longstanding passion for textiles and patterns, passed on to him by his mother. For the artist, adding layers of abstraction to his portraits is a way to reclaim dominant narratives about black bodies and to reject their objectification. By removing his subject’s eyes, Taku lends his subjects a super natural status, turning them into demi-gods and mythical heroes. His practice thereby positions black people as worthy of awe and reverence, constituting an important voice in the recent rise of Black portraiture in contemporary art.

Entitled The Chosen Few, Taku’s first solo exhibition with MARUANI MERCIER and the first presentation of his work outside of Ghana, focused on his newest series of paintings It Takes Two. Hung like flags from plywood beams, each work depicts a pair: two people intimately intertwined and mirroring one another. The artist says: “the importance of capturing two figures in juxtaposition was to create a sense of consolidation, synergy and unity. This is emphasized through the anthropomorphic silhouettes created by the bodies engulfed in silkscreened fabric print “. With cultural signifiers stemming from distinct historical periods and parts of the world, the artist has created a vibrant, timeless body of work.