The Gallery of Everything presents ASAFO - an online exhibition of Asafo flags from Ghana, dating from the 1930s to the 1970s.
WHAT DIGITAL EXHIBITION // ASAFO
WHEN Sunday 13th September to Sunday 4th October 2020
WHERE www.gallevery.com/exhibitions/asafo/
To view the digital exhibition, please click here.
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anonymous, untitled (c 1930/40)
[ proverb: only a brave man goes under a large tree ]
stitched, appliquéd and embroidered cotton //
100 x 154 cm, 39⅜ x 60⅝ "
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To view the digital exhibition, please click here.
In the 17th century, on the coast of what is now modern-day Ghana, the Fante people developed a distinctive practice.
They organised themselves into the Asafo: military groups with their own numbers, symbols and designs. The now-famous flags created by these artists and image-makers commenced an extraordinary visual practice, today considered to be one of the most vivid and celebratory of 20th century Africa.
To view the digital exhibition, please click here.
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anonymous, untitled (c 1930/40)
[ proverb: the lion dominates even the fierce leopard ]
stitched, appliquéd and embroidered cotton // 98 x 160 cm, 38⅝ x 63 "
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To view the digital exhibition, please click here.
Asafo flags are adorned with emblems and allegories conjured from folk tales and proverbs. Functioning at funerals and festivities, each allegory aims to express its message with pride and pizzazz. Oral history, mythology and technology are intertwined into each banner, shaping tradition and consciousness.
Asafo flags continue to inspire artists, curators and designers - from museum director Gus Casely-Hayford to contemporary artist Kerry James Marshall - and reside in the collections of the National Museum of African Art (Washington), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Quai Branly (Paris) and many more.
To view the digital exhibition, please click here.
All flags come with a Certificate of Authenticity.
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anonymous, untitled (c 1930/1940)
[ proverb: the fish grow fat for the benefit of the crocodile ]
stitched, appliquéd and embroidered cotton
100 x 165 cm, 39⅜ x 65 "
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