Live and die in kantamanto

T-shirts and Flour sacks

25 feet X 20 feet. 2013

I voiced out the concern of marketers by collecting 453 t-shirts and 21 flour sacks from the Kantamanto market to create a piece with the text that I borrowed from these daily traders out of their own frequently used statements, “yen tu kantamanto ye be wu waha,” we will never vacate, we will die in this market.

In May 2013, the mayor of Accra ordered the immediate relocation of the market to make the premises available for rebuilding. The market was set on fire in the wake of the trend for major markets in Ghana. This, coupled with the loss of properties, led to a series of demonstrations in protest of the government’s position. They chant many songs, including the phrase above. They cited cases where road users are allowed to use portions of roads under construction, thus stressing the essence of their refusal to empty the premises.
They were authorized to use the space for 1 year while the government makes another decision.

Photo credit: Serge Attukwei Clottey

Medium: Photography and found objects. Year: 2011-2016

In “I MISS YOU HOME,” Tijay used photography to document a room where he lived between 2011-2016, located in B388/13, Shukura, Accra, Ghana. The space served as a sanctuary space for fellow artists who needed a place to stay on their journey to Accra, Ghana, and for interns and apprentices who had moved to Accra to study under him. Neighbors saw it as a hub to spend time and discuss political and sports issues, among others. The idea of the space came about on one of  Tijay’s travels across West Africa. Together with other artists, they lamented about the high cost of traveling and lodging for artists, and a room his father had reserved as a guest room in Nima, Accra, Ghana, where Tijay lived and worked while attending art school. Almost Everything in the room is donated by occupants of the space the objects are arranged into symbolic, engaging discoveries as group portraits of occupants. It communicates the hopefulness of our lives that are often overlooked or forgotten, and it recalls a valuable history of its previous life and proprietors. A gesture that mimics “Sankofa,” an Adinkra symbol from Ghana which means learning or seeking inspiration from the past for a prosperous future, as well as  a quote by Nelson Mandela: “It is in your hands, to make a better world for all who live in it.”