Story By: Rahamatu-Lahi Zakaria || Sanatu Zambang
In his first solo exhibition as an artist, Tamale based artist, Rashid Asigri illustrate the local architecture of the north that is slowly fading off due to urbanisation and redevelopment. The circle of Life which he titled was held on the 30th of October, 2021 at the studios of Sanatu Zambang.
Speaking to Wendy Laarie on Sanatu Zambang Café Experience, the artist explained that, his latest work, Circle of life is meant to preserve and tell future generations how people from the northern part of Ghana built their homes and the materials used in the construction. He believes that in time to come, all the designs and buildings will no longer exist and the only way to tell the next generation is through art.
The north is currently experiencing gentrification. The thatch houses that were known to be people homes are no longer built. These thatch houses are being pulled down and new and modernised forms of structures are adopted.
For this emerging artist, the cultural artefact will not exist in the next years to come and it is very important for him to document these things before they are no longer in existence. To do this preservation, he uses painting and pottery to create his works.
Another reason he chose to do this form of art is to inform foreigners about his culture and why they are important to his people.
Circle of life exhibition is a follow up to a group exhibition he participated in with other emerging artists in Tamale. This group exhibition was dubbed SCCA Tamale Art challenge in 2020. This exhibition was organised by Sanatu Zambang to bring to light young and amazing talents in the art field to showcase their work and also build networks with their colleagues in the industry.
Rashid Asigri was the promising one among the group and he showed his desire to take his work to the next level, hence the reason for the studio to organise a solo exhibition for him.
