The Man Who Touched the Sun: Kwame Koda’s ‘Suntopia’ Exhibition at Beehive Lounge, Accra
Kwame Koda in centre frame, touching the sun 😉
This was a show of symphony of colour, but also of Kwame Koda’s personal ideals and artistic identity. Beginning after sunset, at the hole-in-the-wall curbside venue in Accra, ‘Suntopia’ gave us a chance to look boldly into the sun. There was nightlong music, drinks, low, dingy lighting, and a generous turnout.
At the mic, Koda reiterated how much he seeks for his art, himself, and his enthusiasts to go above and beyond. He set his own sights on the Sun and the colour orange as his muse.
He has carried the sun through previous exhibitions, “Art and Mind: A Look Beyond the Horizon” in 2021, a group exhibition “In the Skin of” in Portugal in 2022, an ArtBox VR interactive group show in Rome earlier this year, and this past Saturday, at Beehive in Accra.
The art strung and pegged on lines around the space allowed for a multi-dimensional interaction with the prints of art. The body of work ranges from apparently ordinary ‘Countryside’, ‘Sunset in Paris’ and ‘Sun Court’ to the more surreal ‘Floating not Sinking’.
‘Rugged’ by Kwame Koda
In the picture titled ‘Rugged’, of a silhouette of a man swathed in shrouding tawny cloth, barefoot on a hazy beach, Koda creates contrast with a digitally superimposed orange orb representing the sun between the model and the sea behind him. Koda manages to perfectly blend this contrast of auburn and spectre-grey, warm and cold, with ease. The digital sun seemingly casts an orange halo around the model, and his cloak of brown, and faintly on the sand such that it looks like the man is walking with it. Despite the “sun” being past the horizon, it never dips behind it, Koda keeps it a full circle, and as constant as in all his work.
Koda’s fascination with the Sun reaches near cultic. His SUNMAN iconography is characteristically whimsical and fantastic. It takes a very real thing out of the world, and explores its dimensions beyond convention. Koda protagonises the Sun such that when he photographs a group at the beach, or the Eiffel tower, he really rather photographs sunlight and his craft’s indebtedness to it.
He inserts the sun into everything, including the traffic light, whose traditional amber he replaced with a more sulfuric realgar gradient in the picture ‘Kodatime’.
‘Kodatime’ by Kwame Koda
Following the 19th Century Claude Monet painting “Impression Sunrise” that gave its name to the impressionist movement, the colour orange became increasingly popular among impressionist artists because of its complementary contrast to azure blue. The paradisiacal “Suntopia” , a geometric mind mansion in the foreground against an azure sky, and “Sun Villa” forge Koda’s own solar movement.
Kiko of Audiavidia who photographed the night told me, “As a friend and big fan of Koda, and seeing him chart a way for himself, especially with this solo exhibition, I’m heavily proud of him. Witnessing him do his designs in real time from computer to print is surreal.” Surrealism is not only an end aesthetic in Suntopia, it’s a part of the process.
Designer Cherel Gyamfi said, “Suntopia was a great experience and it was delightful seeing Kwame’s work all at once. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for Kwame, as his future is big and bright!”
“I missed Koda’s exhibition last year and I wasn’t going to miss Suntopia for anything. The Suntopia message is clear; anytime you see the sun, remember not to settle. Go beyond. We’re all capable of so much more in every field of work or artistry we find ourselves in.” — Nii Samuel, artist & attendee
‘Touching the Sun’ by Kwame Koda
Kwame Koda, formerly Creative Director here at Kenga, recently just announced his new role as Creative Director for ‘Outmosphere’, is not new to exhibiting; this was only one of several solo exhibitions. He’s now “taking the sun to London” on the 20th of May for an exhibition with New Comma’s ‘Common Ground’ event.