Godfried Donkor (born 1964)[1] is a Ghanaian artist, living and working in London, who has exhibited in Cuba, Mexico, the US, Europe and Africa.
Donkor has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, both in the United States and in Europe, and was Ghana's representative to the 2001 Venice Biennale.
[3] Soon afterwards, he switched his entire focus to painting and was from thereon out a visual artist, but still with a fondness for fashion design, and sought a way to bridge the two throughout his career.
Donkor's work inspiration comes from the historical and sociological issues shared in the history of the African and European people.
[4] Taking inspiration from the people of Africa and Europe, Donkor's influences encompass topics in relation to historical events and social issues.
Working mostly in collage, he uses mixed-media, including as newspapers, lace, sheet music and other paper materials as a background to majority of his pieces.
The main images in his work usually represent a rise and empowerment of the African-American community, showing a breakthrough of success after a troubling and difficult history.
Donkor's interest in collage began when he was a student at St. Martin's College of Art in London, where he instantly connected with the medium.
Muhammad Ali stands over the illustrated slave ship like a mythic giant, though his stance and facial expression are timid and nonaggressive.
These images also suggest that their success, specifically the black sports figures, is rooted in their commodification as entertainment for a white audience.
The Guns and Bullets collection and the Financial Times Flags show a different message, using objects rather than people in his images.
[4] By incorporating both nations into the production process, Donkor connects their similar lace histories in terms of how the material was being exploited by greater colonial powers.
The outfits evoke "a penitentiary’s finest", creating "a striking visual representation of commercial enslavement as colonial legacy".
[9] Similar to Donkor's previous works bringing attention to the commodification of the human being, the exhibition boldly critiques “empire and exploitation” in the face of Ireland's colonial legacy.
The outfits, which Donkor describes more as "sculptural pieces", were based on 18th-century costumes to further evoke the musical era, and capture his fascination with the weighty past of Africans and their historical presence.