Delali Cofie
At the conjuring of roots, I wished to meet Me...
Photography
2023
Analogue Photography on Archival Pigment PrintsDyed Raffia & Cotton Fabric on Kente Weave
“I am his shadow, and he is mine. I see my existence in its forms, separate from the physical. I am wearing me, a me that has no flesh and bone, a me that exists as thought. I am wearing Me. I sought to discover the weight of self, to confront the full extent of my being. Understanding that I am the toll of my history, the accumulation of not just my experiences but of them who came before, to whom I am linked. Inspired by traditional West African costuming practices, I explored the physical manifestation of self through masquerade garments. Like the Otoghe-Toghe masquerade from Arombga, Nigeria, its body segmented in rows that spoke to me of a piling upon of history overtime. Old family clothes of mine and my father's served as the base material that I combined with raffia, used bed sheets, and fabric scraps sourced from various tailor shops in Accra, Ghana. Artifacts of time that become a constructed archive of personal history. Working with local artisan communities, through processes of dyeing and sewing, I realized that the process of becoming is as communal as it is individual. There is no “self” without the many hands and interactions of others. Similarly, various subjects embody these garments, considering them as extensions of themselves, existing between spaces of confrontation, concealment, and revelation. They join me on my journey of self-formation, as mirrors through which I understand the cyclical nature of being.At the conjuring of roots, I wished to meet me...”
Work by
Delali Cofie
Photography
“I sought to discover the weight of self, to confront the full extent of my being. Understanding that I am the toll of my history, the accumulation of not just my experiences but of them who came...” [More]