AKPE
2022
Bicycle tire, Inner tire Rubber Tubes and Rivets
53 x 45 in
Akpe means "Thanks" in Ewe. Ewe(Eve or Evegbe) is a Gbe language spoken by the Ewes in southeastern Ghana and Togo.
Being partly Ewe and Ga (both Ghanaian tribes), I am inspired by the naming traditions behind these tribes. In Africa, most children are named based on situations surrounding their birth. I decided to apply this technique to the naming of my works, naming them based on circumstances surrounding their creation: be it a moment of joy, gratitude or deep contemplation. I began using Yoruba names in my works as the Ga tribe have Yoruba roots in Nigeria and also because Yoruba names are similar to Ewe names. I began exploring the use of Igbo names after, as they bore similarities to Yorubo and Ewe names in terms of depth and meaning.