Ibrahim Mahama Considers Ghana’s Future by Revisiting Its Industrial Past Inside Fondation Cartier
In The Harvest Season, an exhibition at Fondation Cartier in Paris organized by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, German-Ghanaian artist Zohra Opoku explores cultural identity and pressing social issues across Africa. Bringing together ten artists to reflect on Ghana’s colonial and postcolonial histories, the exhibition examines the erasure of cultural memory and the country’s industrial past while imagining possibilities for its future. Opoku’s practice engages with these themes through works that investigate identity, history, and the social consequences of global systems.
Often incorporating photographs from her family albums silk-screened onto old, pre-dyed fabrics, Opoku’s work connects personal narratives with broader questions of cultural belonging and collective memory. Her use of discarded textiles also addresses the environmental and social impact of fast fashion, including the dumping of used clothing in Africa. Within The Harvest Season, her work contributes to a wider reflection on how artists can recover overlooked histories and confront contemporary inequalities. The exhibition is on view at Fondation Cartier through February 28, 2027.
Excerpted words written by Caroline Roux for Galerie Magazine.
