Kwabena Appiah-Nti reveals his personal view of Ghana in his first photo book
Two years ago, Kwabena Appiah-Nti aka Sekyi took his first trip to Ghana, his father’s homeland. Having grown up in a small Dutch town, and living in Amsterdam, the emerging photographer had not fully explored his heritage before. So enriching was the experience that it has inspired his new photo book, Sika Kokoo. This lovingly produced, limited edition tome speaks to his personal view of the country and its people today.
“The project is a really meaningful one to me,” Sekyi explains. “It helped me to explore a part of my father’s culture and thus a major aspect of my own identity. And it’s encouraged me to learn more about Ghana and her rich culture. So, I hope people who see my book will also get a more nuanced view of contemporary Ghana.”
The book’s title means ‘red money’ in Twi and translates as gold in English. In his father’s Akan culture, gold symbolises the sun and Kra (the soul). The artist draws on these ideas, weaving ancient proverbs and Adinkra symbols in with his warm and gentle images ranging from vast landscapes to intimate portraits.
“ThIs project helped me to explore a part of my father’s culture and my own identity”
The book is also an extension of his ongoing body of work, Golden Boy, which portrays young Black men from around the world at rest and at play. Here, we encounter confident youth on skateboards, diving into lakes and congregating on motorbikes, each scene a tender snapshot of everyday life and Sekyi’s quiet riot against negative stereotypes surrounding Black communities in Ghana and beyond.
It’s the simplest of moments that felt so special for Sekyi, such as the day he shot the photograph that has made it onto the book’s cover. “One of my favourite images is of a guy whom I met on the beach. His friend and he were practicing backflips into the waves together. I asked them if I could join them. After doing some flips, I took their picture,” he recalls.
Sekyi graduated in 2017 and since then has shot the likes of Daily Paper, The New Originals and Schön! magazine as well being chosen as one of the Foam Talents of 2021. With Sika Kokoo, his halcyon aesthetic is truly born.
Sika Kokoo is available to pre-order now. Special editions come wrapped in a screenprint artwork by Senakirfa Abraham on Ghanaian flour sack. Buy it from Sekyi’s website here.