Zakiya

Mimicking the traditional medium of painting, Zakari’s figurative collages (made from plastic bags, water sachet, food, and beverage packages) reimagines the women collectors of the art materials and other women that he knows as living a life of luxury. The artist fuses the plastic scraps, trims them into shapes and forms, and stitches them using a rope and needle. By transforming the found objects into arts, Zakari seems to transform the lives of the women too.

Rufai Zakari (b. 1990, Ghanaian), an artist based in Accra and Bawku, examines consumerism, environmental pollution, labour and trade, and the perils of industrialisation in the contemporary Ghanaian society. His art practice involves using found objects including plastic bags, food packages and plastic bottles. He is the founder of the Bawku-based Rujab Eco-art Foundation.

Zakari has previously exhibited in CirculArt: A Sustainable Art Exhibition (2019), Casa Trasacco, Accra; Violence Against Woman Group Art (2018), Accra-Ghana; Yoomo Be Ga Recycle Art Exhibition (2017), Museum of Science and Technology, Accra; Nima Muhinmanchi Art (NMA) (2012) Group Exhibition, Alliance Francaise, Accra among others.