Prince Gyasi

The Ghanaian artist Prince Gyasi brings a touch of lightness and hope in his photographs. The black bodies on a coloured background which, being well anchored in the contemporary culture of his country, claim a kind of counter-current to the white standards of beauty. As a visual artist, from a photo taken with his I-phone, he creates a whole offbeat and surrealist universe in homage to young people in need (Boxedkids is the association he founded).

(Source : Paul di Felice)

He shot his first photographs through an iPhone in order to break artistic conventions and question the elitism found in art. Prince Gyasi is a visual storyteller who aims to represent his community and generation through his work. His practice, featuring block colour and vibrant contrast, aims at making his audience enter his own reality with synesthesia, a condition that creates unconventional overlap between the senses, for example experiencing colour as sound or associating words with colour.

“As a visual artist, I think what I need to do is repaint Africa to the world by taking away the negativity out of the images and show the positive sides of Africa. Mostly, the negative aspects of Africa are the only sides that represents the continent and that’s one of the reasons that inspired me to create beauty”

His signature aesthetic invites the audience to enter his own reality. Through his unique colourful universe, he depicts the elegance and energy of his generation, liberated from the old beliefs on sexuality, race and traditional social norms. The artist considers his work as ‘a therapy through colours’ and believes colour have a positive impact on people’s mental health and happiness. His work also highlights the beauty of black bodies, offering a counter-narrative to the dominant western-centered notions of beauty.

(Source : The New York Times, Elizabeth Paton)