OmenaArt
Foundation

Born and raised in Labadi – a coastal fishing community in Accra – Kwaku Yaro transforms found waste into intricately crafted portraits, turning them into multilayered narratives.

Yaro’s works emerge from a fusion of fragments of plastic mats, used bags, and colorful fabrics with traditional acrylic painting. Using materials characteristic of the Ghanaian landscape carries stories of community and national identity while referencing the artist’s personal history. A polypropylene mat was part of the modest belongings carried by Yaro’s mother on her journey from northern Ghana to Accra in search of a better life for her family. For the artist, it has become a symbol of migration, resilience, and hope. Meanwhile, the iconic red-and-blue checkered bag, locally known as the “Ghana Must Go” bag, evokes the mass expulsion of Ghanaian citizens from Nigeria in the 1980s and the complex relationship between the two countries.

An unusual combination of pointillism, collage, and traditional craft defines the artist’s style. Yaro applies hundreds of small dots on a plastic surface that form a colorful, collective portrait. As he states: Each spot represents the people of the town of Labadi. (..) I like to imagine that all the people who I grew up with, who defined my life and made me the man I am today are represented in every artwork of mine, following me wherever I go, or where my art goes.

Kwaku Yaro (b. 1995) is a Ghanaian visual artist in Accra. He is a member of Artemartis, a collective of young contemporary artists. He has participated in numerous exhibitions, including at Septieme Gallery in Paris, Gallery 1957 in Accra, and Pearl Lam Gallery in Hong Kong. Yaro’s works are held in public collections, including The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and in private collections in Ghana, Poland, the United Kingdom, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Côte d’Ivoire.