7th Clark Bursary
The Wisdom of Food
by Nii Obodai
Nii Obodai is based in Accra, Ghana and was educated in the UK and Nigeria. He is a self taught photographer and has been working for 10 years. His work has been exhibited Bamako, Accra and San Francisco (forthcoming). He has recently facilitated workshops with young people and photographers from the West African region, and was a resident artist at Les Artes International, Paris. He is currently a recipient of the Clark Bursary: 7th UK Digital Art Award at Watershed, where he is developing new work within the context of 200 years since the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and 50 years of Ghana's independence, and also exploring the use of digital video and sound.
Artist statement:
"My photography is the process of openly expressing what gives me the energy to remain sane and to visualize the art of life as I experience it.
My observation is that thought is image and vice versa. Thought is shaped by the mystery of now. When I create an image it's not with a detached eye but with the reasoning that I am part observer, explorer, creator and messenger, with an artist's inspiration from nature's expression of being.
I desire to engage the past, traveling the places that create memory and thus to see a way into the future. I explore the zones between tradition, improvisation and modernity, documenting a New Africa. In this landscape of wonder, with its unlikely adeptness, cultures merge, positive traditions remain in contemporary living, faces of the Diaspora return home and spiritual stories are told not to be forgotten.
Having our thoughts come in the form of images, then what better method of communication than to use photography to express my imagination and allow for transformation. Going beyond the beyond. It‚s my way of exposing an exciting world where the least is more and beauty is undeniable. Finding and giving strength in simple ideas.
Spirit culture landscape earth music dance poetry space structure people infinity light. Cosmic tension and release. Healing."
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