- Medium
- Acrylic and gouache on paper
- Dimensions
- 42 × 59 cm
- Availability
- Available
- Price
- GHS 1,200
Fishermen lean their whole bodies into the net while the Atlantic gives nothing up easily. A study of collective labour on the Cape Coast shore.
The story behind the work
On the Cape Coast, the morning belongs to the fishermen. Pulling the net is never a single person's work — it is a chain of bodies, old men and boys, leaning back against the sea together until it surrenders. I wanted the painting to feel like that strain: the water rendered loose and fast, the figures rooted and heavy, the catch still hidden in the tangle of green. It is a portrait of a community in the act of holding on.
Artist's note
I painted the sea last, in a single sitting, so the water would stay wet and uncertain. The men I drew slowly, over days.
