THINGS BECOMING MORE ABSENT

A RESPONSE TO REINER RUTHENBECK'S ''OVERTURNED CHAIRS''

GOLD COAST

When the cock crows, they set up their stall.
Spirals of skins cut off and fall.
She arranges them in a wounded aluminium basin,
And as she lifts it up, she grabs hold if the fruit of her labour.

Now they set off in a quest to make change,
And at noon they encounter the smells that entice them.
Stomach rumbling,
Mouth watering.
Food for a mother and child.

Once their pockets and stomachs are full, they travel home with the dirt of the world on their feet.

GOLD COAST

The Volta region in Ghana( formerly known as Gold Coast)is surrounded by beaches and shares a border with Togo. When i was a child I would spend the holidays with my Aunty in Denu. A town close to Aflao; the border between Ghana and Togo.
On Saturdays we would go to Aflao market to buy foodstuffs and provisions for the week. I remember how busy it was. People walking in and out of Ghana casually. The people at the both sides of the border spoke the same language, and ate the same food ; yet they needed stamps to cross an intangible path. 
This shot of my fathers feet was taken by me in my kitchen. Interestingly, he grew up in ''Keta'' the land that was washed away by the sea. He was very much a part of trade in the town, because that was the only way for him to pay his school fees. The ''Keta'' we see today is not the Keta that existed. Keta has been washed, washed away

AFLAO MARKET

Its like a different language
A song maybe,
A rhythm with dust in the air.
You would not understand unless I was there.
To explain a song about trade,
At the city's border,
Where people trade until the daylight fades.

CONTRADICTION

When most people see this image they are very likely to concentrate on the scars on her face.

When I saw this image I noticed contradiction.

I sensed a petition for help.

I questioned why a Muslim, perhaps a practicing Muslim is being photographed in front of a parish.

Is she fed up of her religion; because so called Muslims are terrorising her country in the name of Allah.

They claim to be doing Allah's work yet all they do is kill Allah's people.

But she is aware that there is a God above.

''Nyame Biribiri Wo Soro'' - God is in the Heavens

The adinkra symbol I placed above the statue is to highlight the contradiction possibly missed my many people.

She is hopeful.

SCARS AT 15

She is hurt, torn and her skin is ripped by bombs from Boko Haram attacks.

Painting After Ed Kashi, A photographer.