Amoako Boafo’s stylish portraits celebrate Blackness in all its multitudes

Gilles Deleuze once said, “The shadow escapes from the body like an animal we had been sheltering.” In his latest series of portraits, painter Amoako Boafo’s figures are often depicted accompanied by those ever-present but elusive companions. As a counterpoint to the plains of rich ochres, Yves Klein blue, and vivid pinks that occupy his canvases, the shadows create a depth of field and a sense of interplay between the boldly attired figures and their shady counterparts. Boafo introduces this feature into his work to represent the sitters’ concealed or denied aspects, which must be claimed in order to achieve selfhood. The Ghana-born artist tells Dazed, “It is important to note that a person must know and accept themselves in totality, not pretend to have only one side.”

With a new exhibition, Singular Duality: Me Can Make We, about to open in LA’s Roberts Projects, Boafo is really making a name for himself in the art world with his distinctive, bold paintings. His work sits naturally among names such as Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Henry Taylor, and Kehinde Wiley. And he’s incisive when it comes to the thematic ideas he’s interested in exploring in his work: “representation, documentation, and celebration of Blackness.” 

Drawn to individuals whose narratives aren’t often privileged, or who raise his consciousness, or who are just downright stylish, Boafo’s work is inspired directly by the figures from his Black community, in a wider sense. “These are people I choose to celebrate through my portraits,” he explains. “They make me as much as I make them.”

Above, take a look through the gallery at some of the paintings on display in Singular Duality: Me Can Make We. Below, we talk to Amoako Boafo about the semiotics of colour, getting tactile with paint, and the exciting artists emerging from Africa. 

Please could you tell us a little more about the portraits that feature in Singular Duality: Me Can Make We?

Amoako Boafo: The portraits that feature in Singular Duality are of men and women from both within and outside my intimate circles; they’re inspired by friends, family, powerful Black emerging creatives but most importantly from my community, in the wider sense. These are people I choose to celebrate through my portraits, they make me as much as I make them.

How do you choose whose portrait to paint? What qualities draw you to the individuals you depict?

Amoako Boafo: I document and celebrate people from my community who would usually not have the chance of ever being portrayed or have their voices heard anywhere. Also, people who provide spaces for others to coexist, because such people make the world go around and they inspire me. And then there are those times when a person’s sense of fashion, style, confidence, and poise draw me to portray them or portray that look of confidence.

What would you say are the overarching themes you return to in your work?

Amoako Boafo: This will definitely be the representation, documentation, celebration of Blackness.

“There is a whole plethora of artworks and artists waiting to erupt out of Africa and Black culture onto the global stage” – Amoako Boafo

Please could you elaborate on the presence of shadows in your portraits?

Amoako Boafo: The presence of shadows here is me introducing my subjects’ shadows, once connected but now separated and almost becoming an image in their own right. My subjects are individuals with their own dreams, goals, traumas, aspirations, and pain and these are all present behind that look of confidence and poise. It is important to note that a person must know and accept themselves in totality, not pretend to have only one side.

You fill the negative space with such beautiful and vivid colours. Please could you tell us more about the significance of colour in your work?

Amoako Boafo: Colour for me is a form of language that I choose to express myself in. The world around us is filled with vibrant colours being used for communication. Colours are used to express and affect moods in our everyday lives. In my culture, for instance, certain colours convey a direct message in communicating a person’s mood. So it is in my paintings. I use colours to convey the mood of my subjects or my mood while painting, be it the background, the clothes of the subjects, or an item surrounding my subjects. These colours in my works mostly inspire connections between the observer and subjects of the work.

You sometimes use a technique of painting with your fingers, how did you arrive at the tactile way of working?

Amoako Boafo: I only use the technique of painting with my fingers when painting the faces, hands, and other exposed parts of the body of my subjects. Having explored many technical and figurative expressions of skin tone and movement, I realised my process is best embellished when I paint with my fingers. The lack of instruments for me is organic and allows me to create freely and achieve a very expressive skin tone while unveiling these sculptural figures, so I stayed with it.

What is happening in popular culture right now that most excites you?

Amoako Boafo: In recent years there has been a major inclusion of Black art and African art into popular culture and this excites me personally, as an African artist. There is a whole plethora of artworks and artists waiting to erupt out of Africa and Black culture onto the global stage. This is exciting and I am looking forward to seeing its direct impact on the African art market and the emergence of world-class artists out of Africa. 

Amoako Boafo, Singular Duality: Me Can Make We is at Roberts Projects in LA from September 18 until November 6 2021