PRINCE GYASI
The visual artist Prince Gyasi (Ghana, 1995) is on his way to changing how the rest of the planet perceives African life. The prince is here to claim his crown with photographs that exude optimism and good vibes.
In his work Hope Child (2019), Gyasi says: "This is a kid who has to sell oranges, give the money to his parents, for his parents to provide food for him. This was shot at Elmina, which also played a part in slavery." The artist always has stories for each piece, and when hearing them, you feel closer and closer to the people he depicts. Using his iPhone to take all his photos, with his town Accra as a witness, Prince Gyasi captures the daily life of his neighbors in subsequently adulterated settings, with dramatic colors and impossible hues that contrast with the skin color of those he portrays.
What is so important about his work is that he gives us a different approach to the representation that we usually have of Africa and what we constantly connect to the continent: despair, poverty, abandonment, and hopelessness. “I don't use an iPhone just because I want to be unique. I use an iPhone because I believe as an artist, you can use whatever tool or whatever equipment you have to tell your stories. I also use color because I want people to be mentally and emotionally healed by just looking at my images and my art pieces.”
New Deal, 2021. Fuji Archive Chrystal Brillant. 53 × 80 cm. Nil Gallery.
“Most visual artists tell African stories in a negative way. Even though we're going through difficulties, I think for the new generation, especially me, I have to tell these stories in a more beautiful way. So these kids, when they see them they know they can be great people in the future.”
