LIMITED EDITION FOR THE 5TH ARTISTS’ EDITION OF C&

LIMITED EDITION FOR THE 5TH ARTISTS’ EDITION OF C&

C&

September 14, 2024

Berlin, Germany

C& Artists’ Editions is a program of specially commissioned editions by collaborating artists who have been part of the C& network since its launch in 2013.

Titled Give me back my black dolls – a quote taken from the poem “Limbé” by Négritude poet Léon-Gontran Damas – and featuring a portrait of Zohra Opoku as a child, the work represents a first encounter with a visual composition that leads into her new body of work of the same name. This new focus furthers Opoku’s ongoing mission to encourage children of color to love and embrace themselves and each other.

“I am two or three years old in the portrait, standing in front of a favorite childhood place, the farm of my grandparents (Spreewald, Germany). It represents incredible memories from my first years, before I began school in the north of East Germany after my mother graduated and moved to start her first job. At the farm, the connection to nature and animals and the familiarity of family handcrafts such as knitting, crochet, embroidery, and sewing were strong. I am wearing my grandfather’s garden boots. He was my hero in so many ways – I rarely left his side. Today, I understand that my early years and core identity were defined there, before difficulties started in my youth – before school, where bullying, beauty idealism, and puberty created different effects on my sense of self. The drawing featured in this edition represents a moment of crystalizing identity, inspired by my son Junior who turned twenty this year. I have been making choices for him that have allowed him to grow a strong mind as an African child, knowing who he is and where he comes from. I love this for him – going out into this world very conscious of himself, his Ghanaian heritage, and the beauty and power of his Blackness.” 

The release of the edition will be launched at the 13th Edition of Berlin Art Week.