Ghana Designer Coffins
Have you ever seen a coffin made to resemble an animal? How about a film projector or a bible? An entrepreneur in Ghana is designing fantasy coffins uniquely created to capture the essence of the departed - whether a character trait, an occupation, or a symbol of one's standing in the community. VOA’s Paul Ndiho recently visited Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop in Teshie, Accra and has our report.
Ghana Ataudes Kane Kwei en Teshi Accra
Video de los ataudes que hace Kane después de pagar 10 CDs. Sale en un anuncio de Aquarius.
RR0226/C Ghana: Coffins
SHOTLIST
various views Accra craft market, Ghana; Kente cloths on display, vendors in market; Accra street; people passing; various views of barbershops and hand-painted barbershop signs; File: exterior view Beurs van Berlage museum in Amsterdam; various views interior exhibition; onion coffin; lion coffin; fish; eagle, bus; butterfly; cocoa-pod; Erna Beumers, exhibition organiser, sot (APTN File); various views Teshie beach in Ghana, fishermen launching boats into breakers; fishing boats sailing; various views 'fantasy' coffin shop; fish coffin; tanker; shark; various views Kwame Kane Kwei and apprentices working on coffins in workshop; sawing; planing; measuring; Kwame Kane Kwei, Master Coffin-Maker, sot; various views clients visiting coffin-maker to place order; various views Ga festival; File: Ghanaian funeral, mourners at graveside (APTN File); various views second coffin shop, lion coffin, Mercedes Benz coffin, chickens, vegetables, fish, lobster, aeroplane; File: Erna Beumers, exhibition organiser, sot; various views coffins in Dutch exhibition (APTN File);
STORYLINE
A recent art form to emerge from Ghana is the so-called 'fantasy coffins'. Expertly crafted and beautifully painted, they symbolise the profession or the aspirations of the deceased. But now, these coffins in the shapes of birds, fish, limousines and aeroplanes are being bought and exhibited by art dealers for sale to European clients who enjoy them as spectacular sculptures in themselves.
You can license this story through AP Archive:
Find out more about AP Archive:
Designer coffins in Ghana
I visited Eric Adjetey Anang, premier designer coffin maker in Ghana, West Africa. He explains his work and takes me to a local funeral where one of his coffins is used. Article written for Wellington's Capital magazine here
Messing with Ghanaian Coffins
Accra, Ghana - Art Museum
Master craftsman Paa Joe and Jacob Tetteh-Ashong speak about the fantasy coffins they create
Paa Joe (Joseph Ashong) is a Ghanaian figurative palanquin and fantasy coffin artist, born in 1947 in the Akwapim region, Greater Accra Region in Ghana. At the age of 15 Paa Joe started a ten-year apprenticeship as a coffin artist in the workshop of Kane Kwei (1924–1992) in Teshie, and by 1976 had started his own business in Nungua where he would become known as one of the most important Ghanaian coffin artists of his generation.
Each work is carefully constructed to reflect the ambition or the trade of the person for whom it was made, and designs include everything from coke bottles to cars.
His work has been featured in major art exhibitions in Europe, Japan and the USA, and his fantasy coffins are in the collections of many art museums worldwide, including the British Museum in London. Paa Joe currently works with his two sons, Jacob and Isaac.
KANE KWEI WORKS - Eric Adjetey Anang sur France 24
Interview par Skype réalisé en 2011 et diffusé sur France 24.