Aplerh-Doku Borlabi Ghana, b. 1987
Borlabi’s early works applied his foundational learning in academic painting, creating naturalistic compositions, and for years he grappled with finding a visual language that felt authentic. After 7 years of painting, Borlabi turned to his natural environment to embody his own culture and ethnic identity. Growing up in the CoCo Beach area of Accra, the coconut tree and fruit is a part of the artist’s daily visual experience, and after spending a day sketching at the beach recently, the thought of using the coconut in his work emerged. From a distance, the mixed media works of oil paint and coconut husk on canvas, appear as richly toned brown skin. The intrinsic properties of the coconut husk’s multiple layers, longhairs, and varying shades of brown whimsically renders skin texture and bone structure, while emulating the way natural light surfaces on skin.
With one medium, the artist was able to capture the physical color complexities of black people’s skin, and visually narrate the physical organic connections of humanity, and plant life. Metaphorically, the coconut husks contemplate the tension between what is disregarded, discarded, and deemed ugly, and what is natural, strong, complex, multidimensional, and beautiful. Echoing prideful statements, such a Black is Beautiful, Borlabi captures the joy of the human experience lived in Black people globally, Ghana, and the continent at large.
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Unlimited
Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast, Ghana 10 Nov 2022 - 18 Jan 2023Gallery 1957 is pleased to present UNLIMITED , the first of its kind group exhibition of monumental, large-scale works of art in a 1,400-square-metre unfinished industrial space that has never...Read more -
Aplerh-Doku Borlabi- Shia Hiɛ Nyam Woo: Honouring Home
Accra, Gallery II 3 Jun - 11 Jul 2022For his first solo show Shia Hiɛ Nyam Woo: Honouring Home, Borlabi presents resplendent re-imaginings of his reflections of home: an enchanting collection of proud portraits celebrating the effulgence of...Read more -
Adjei Tawiah & Aplerh-Doku Borlabi: Could you be loved
Accra, Gallery III 13 May - 8 Jul 2021Gallery 1957 i s pleased to announce the opening of our third gallery space in Accra; located on the ground floor of the Galleria Mall, opposite the Kempinski Gold Coast...Read more
Aplerh-Doku Borlabi (b.1987, Ghana) was formally trained at Ghanatta College of Arts and Design, the alma mater of his mentor, acclaimed contemporary artist, Amaoko Boafo.
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