2024
screen print, oil, single-use plastic, paper
60 x 80 cm
Starting bid: 5 000 zł
This artwork is being auctioned in memory of Edwin Owusu Ansah (1995-2024), Artist Manager of Artemartis. All proceeds will support the education of Edwin’s young brother, Russell.
Courage Hunke is an artist whose practice engages with themes of consumer culture, beauty, and memory.
Akosombo envisions the city as a living archive, rich with memory and identity. It features an image transfer of a beloved family photograph from a visit to Ghana’s Akosombo Dam, applied to a surface Hunke made by heat pressing paper and thin plastic into a fused material. Hunke describes his process: “I select a fragment of text from repurposed plastic bags that show through the delicate layers of newly formed paper. This choice not only conveys a message of gratitude but also symbolises the interplay between disposable items and meaningful moments, seamlessly weaving together elements of consumer culture and environmental consciousness.”
This creative method echoes the dam’s 1960s legacy—blending national ambition with the challenges of displacement. The artwork’s textured surface captures the essence of that family moment while reflecting the dam’s broader impact, like industrialisation and community upheaval. The amalgamated material, both delicate and strong, symbolizes the interplay of personal stories and urban evolution. Akosombo thus invites us to view cities as layered archives where intimate and collective histories meld into a lasting impression.
Courage Kpormorne Hunke (b. 2000) is a Ghanaian artist who transforms everyday objects into artworks through an innovative process that fuses paper with reclaimed plastic bags.
Hunke’s pieces reflect the transient nature of existence and serve as meditations on consumer choices and our collective environmental responsibility. In a world shaped by disposability, his art calls on viewers to reconsider their habits, to recognise beauty in overlooked materials, and to absorb the lessons offered by the natural world.
Hunke’s works have been exhibited internationally in West Africa and Europe, including Phillips and I-54 in London, Septieme Gallery in Paris, Citronne Gallery in Athens and Affinity Gallery in Lagos. He is represented by the Ghanaian artist collective Artemartis.
