Serge Attukwei Clottey Ghana, b. 1985

Serge Attukwei Clottey is Ghanaian artist living and working in Los Angeles and Accra. Clottey's multifaceted practice includes installation, drawing, sculpture, painting and performance, all united by, and springing from, a sense of community instilled in him through his upbringing in the traditional extended family structures of Ghana. 

 

The materials Clottey chooses for his works are chosen for their significance to the idea and the journey Clottey is exploring in a specific work, interlacing his own exploration with the histories of the objects. It is this process of transformation and repurposing that forms the very fabric of Clottey's art; challenging pre-set narratives, while allowing for new ideas and identities to form. This is evident not only in Clottey's well known tapestries, but also in the large tondo charcoal drawings and works on linen that reference historical African photography and western impressions of African culture. Working from both African traditional perspectives and his own contemporary ones, Clottey is able to describe how the African historical relationship with Europe is interlinked through identity building, trade and materials, with a perspective that is forward looking and visionary. Reacting with art that not only calls for awareness by exposing environmental problems, but also inspires the human spirit by calling people to action, Clottey wants to help build the foundations of a re-imagined community where we conserve, recycle, and respect each other unhinged by our pasts. 

 

Clottey studied at the Ghanatta College of Art and Design in Ghana and the Guignard University of Art of Minas Gerais in Brazil. In 2019 Clottey received an Honorary Doctorate of Art from the University of Brighton.