Friday Tours: Scottish Mission Book Depot Keta

Description

Friday Tour: Paul Nugent

Paul Nugent is a Professor of Comparative African History (History, Classics and Archaeology/ Centre of African Studies). With a focus on the history and politics of Ghana, Paul led a tour that considered international borderlands, the production and consumption of alcohol, and contemporary political relationships to the idea of nationhood. El Anatsui’s work was made in the context of post-independence Ghana (independent from 1957) and Nigeria (from 1960), with works like Sovereignty seeming to contain a complex map of Ghana and the sub-region – which Paul used to describe locations of historically significant developments. With Woman’s Cloth – one of the first works Anatsui made using discarded liquor bottles – they then considered the role of alcohol in colonial and contemporary contexts, from the trading of products like Dutch Gin to the black market and the role of alcohol in chieftaincy and traditional ceremonies. Lastly, with Scottish Book Mission Depot Keta, Paul introduced a conversation about how different places and peoples conceived of national identity – with contemporary Ghana being a complex assembly of irreducible parts. Ideas relating to Kente Cloth threaded throughout the tour as an important counterpart to the artworks and African identity.







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Period	27 Sept 2024
Event type	Exhibition