Blood Heat

In the late 1980s, the video format became widely available in cinemas. Eager would-be filmmakers started experimenting with home video equipment in making commercial movies. The salon and barbering signages were advertisement materials for the films and belong to the vibrant visual pop-culture in Ghana, a genre that includes tro-tro signages and decorative paintings on shop fronts, and kiosks.
The text on the signages sometimes lift from Street Philosophy. They come from Dr. Joseph Oduro-Frimpong’s collection and were presented in an exhibition titled Suɔmɔ Hi Fe Shika (2021), a Ga language phrase that translates as Love is better than Money, at the Nubuke Foundation.
In the picture above is a handpainting of the 1979 martial arts film ‘Kung Fu vs. Yoga.’ The film was directed by Chan Chuen and Mang Hoi and starred Michelle Yim, Chin Yuet Sang and Alan Chui Chung-San.