AFTER THE PRAYER / BEFORE THE PRAYER |2018

Videoinstallation, projected & screened, unique:
Zohra in the Water 4min 24 sec (Ipad Large Screen), loop
Zullaiha on the beach, 2min 12sec, (Ipad Medium Screen), loop
Zullaiha at Nima 1 min 05 s (Projection),loop with sound
Zullaiha Close up 47s (Ipad Medium Screen),loop
Zullaiha at Nima, 1min 21sec, (Ipad Mini Screen), loop with sound

…Like the Harmattan wind that blows from and in all directions causing the air to blur..

This body of work is about time, points of origin, lived experience, and the resultant revelations. The women in Harmattan Tales hail from various African countries and they share a faith. They are covered by the veil, but within their communities and amongst one another, there are varying degrees of unveiling, which make them undeniably visible.

This journey created an undertone of storytelling by focusing on dress codes while Opoku explored three very different women’s personal beliefs and narratives, their acts of veiling and unveiling inherent to their daily rituals, movements in and out of public and private spaces, and the ways in which these movements influence their activities and responsibilities, regardless of age, marital or family status. They let her discovering a life in the city through their lens.

It becomes a vehicle for Opoku’s return to Ghana self-exploration via the intimacy of otherness and reveals an intricate set of social dynamics, which are shrouded in secrecy for those outside of their circles. These are questions of access, comfort, and admiration sustained by delicate threads of trust and respect. The notion of being completely veiled is an intriguing contrast given the ebbs and flows of modern life, where practicality reigns supreme. Especially the brightly colored garments of Hausa women in Ghana are not just an aesthetic statement, but they also determine the aesthetic feel of the market place where these women shop and work. Opoku has entered the intimate private spaces of three women’s lives, following them with gentle curiosity to capture moments and situations, which sparkle vibrantly, giving the spectator space to let the imagination wonder what stories the scenery is telling and focusing on the politics and aesthetics of the hijab, a detail, which is both to me: stunning and disruptive and became an even bigger “Politikum” after the Trump travel ban when Opoku first presented the work.

“For the video installation ‘After the Prayer/Before the Prayer’ 2018 I captured moments with the young woman Zullaiha who allowed me to record our weekly walks with the video camera. Her personal decision to veil herself with the Niqāb, which happened the first time in her family, is also a quite exceptional image for Ghana. Inspired by her modern refreshing mind and her love to the Islam motivated me to work with moving images for a video installation that consists of 5 recorded situations composed to be screened simultaneously. The day we decided to walk on the beach, I entered the water with my own hijab, which I bought for my weekly research visits in the mosque.

Watching Zullaiha constantly ‘touching water’ for her “Wudhu”, the ritual washing before the prayers, I interpreted the act metaphorically and entered the water in the sea.” - Zohra Opoku