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produced for museums are made from mahogany or another high-grade hardwood so as to guard against cracking and attacks by insects when transferred from one climate to another. Each coffin takes two to six weeks to produce, depending on the complexity of the construction and the carpenter's level of experience. For urgent orders, several carpenters will work on a single piece. The woodworking is done using simple, non-electric tools. Painting can take up to two days to complete. Some models are painted by the head of the workshop, others by local sign writers, some of whom are well known in the
Western art market for making hand-painted movie posters. Coffin-makers and sign-painters usually decide together on the patterns and colors to use for a coffin.
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are allowed to be buried in such coffins. Animals such as lions, cockerels and crabs may be used to represent clan totems. Similarly, only the heads of clan families are permitted to be buried in coffins of that particular shape. Many coffin shapes evoke proverbs, which are interpreted in different ways by the Ga. That is why fantasy coffins are sometimes called proverbial coffins (
503:. Uninfluenced by Western customers, Ataa Oko developed his own form of artistic language. His work is therefore different from artists in Kane Kwei's tradition, not only in terms of design and materials but in overall appearance. From 2005 until his death in 2012, he worked as a painter under the supervision of anthropologist
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considers the well-known stories about the origin of the figure-coffins to have been invented: „ We have seen how the same criteria of authenticity that were fundamental in documenting the uniqueness and truthfulness of ancient works have been adopted for recent coffins. The proof is provided by the
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but left in 1974. In 1976, he opened his own workshop in Nungua. In 1989, he was invited to show his work in the exhibition "Les
Magiciens de la terre" in Paris. Since then, his coffins have been shown all over the world. In 2005, they were exhibited in the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York and Jack
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Fantasy coffins are only displayed on the day when they are buried with the deceased. They often symbolize the deceased person's profession. Certain shapes, such as a sword or stool, represent regal or priestly insignia with a magical and religious function. Only people with the appropriate status
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because of their religious beliefs regarding the afterlife. The Ga believe that life continues in the next world in the same way it did on earth. Ancestors are also considered much more powerful than the living and able to influence their relatives who are still alive, and the social status of the
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Figurative coffins are produced to order. Master carpenters employ one or more apprentices who carry out a large part of the work. This allows the artist to make several coffins simultaneously. Coffins are generally made from the wood of the local wawa tree. In the interest of durability, items
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Eric Kpakpo was born in 1979 in Nungua, Ghana. He studied carpentry from 1994 until 2000 at Paa Joe's workshop in Nungua. He remained there as a master carpenter until 2006, when he opened his own coffin workshop in La and became one of the most successful coffin artists in his region. He
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The buried treasures of the Ga. Coffin art in Ghana. Regula
Tschumi. Bern: Benteli 2008, p. 63-81. Regula Tschumi 2011. Death-bed of a living man. A coffin for the centre Pompidou, in: Eva Huttenlauch (ed): "Another Anthology of Black Humor", MMK Frankfurt: Kunstbuchverlag NĂĽrnberg. p.
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around 1950. They were formerly used only by Ga chiefs and priests, but since around 1960, figurative coffins have become an integral part of the local funeral culture. Previous to their use by
Christians, Ga had been using figurative palanquins and coffins since the early 20th century.
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was born in the coastal town of La, Ghana. From 1936 to 1939 he was trained as a carpenter in Accra. Until 2002, he made coffins only for
Ghanaian customers and thus remained unknown in Western art circles. In 2006, his work was exhibited for the first time at an art museum in
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occasionally works with his former master Paa Joe. He has also made a name for himself in the international art market, particularly for his miniature coffins. In 2019, Kpakpo's work was shown in Ghana at the mobile museum of the
Ghanaian curator
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in Paris, the
Tinguely Museum in Basel, the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco and the Musée d'ethnographie Neuchâtel. He later became specialized in the production of miniature coffins, a selection of which were shown in 2018 and 2019 at the
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Tschumi: Last Respects, First Honoured. Ghanaian Burial Rituals and Figural Coffins, in: Kunstmuseum Bern (ed.): Six Feet Under. Autopsy of Our Relation to the Dead. Kerber, Bielefeld & Leipzig 2006,
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question this myth. The idea of making and using custom coffins was inspired by the figurative palanquins in which the Ga chiefs were carried, and in which they were sometimes buried. According to some sources,
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from La may have started making custom coffins and figurative palanquins around 1945. Along with Kane Kwei from Teshie and Ataa Oko from La, other carpenters may have begun making them in the early 1950s.
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472:. In 1998, he opened his own studio, Hello Design Coffin Works, in Teshie. His work has been shown in various international art exhibitions and European films. In 2011, his work was shown at the
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Tschumi: A Deathbed of a Living Man. A Coffin for the Centre Pompidou, in: Sâadane Afif (ed.), Anthologie de l’humour noir. Edition Centre Pompidou, Paris 2010, p. 56–61.
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A Deathbed of a Living Man. A Coffin for the Centre
Pompidou. Regula Tschumi in Sâadane Afif (ed.), „Anthologie de l’humour noir“, Paris: Editions Centre Pompidou. 2010. P.56.
429:. In 2007, he opened a new workshop in Pobiman near Accra and in May 2013 he was in a resident artist in the UK with his son Jacob. He was the subject of the Artdocs film
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468:, also known as "Hello," was born in 1968 in Teshie, Ghana. He completed a six-year apprenticeship with Paa Joe in Nungua before spending eight more years with
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presumed origin of the work, which has become even more precious and exceptional ever since the death of its „invented“ inventor, Kane Kwei“.
780:: A Report on Paa Joe and the Proverbial Coffins of Teshie and Nungua, Ghana, in: Africa et Mediterraneo, no. 47–8, 2004, pp. 44–7
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161:, are not only coffins but considered works of art. They were shown for the first time to a wider Western public in the exhibition
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The invention of figurative coffins was at one point attributed to Seth Kane Kwei, though the anthropologists Roberta Bonetti and
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Six Feet Under, 2006. Art Museum Bern, and "Six Feet Under" 2007/2008 in the Deutsches Hygienemuseum, Dresden.
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in Nungua, Greater Accra Region. Since 2007 he has run his own workshop in Awutu Bawyiase, Central Region.
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The buried treasures of the Ga. Coffin art in Ghana. Regula Tschumi. Bern: Benteli 2008, p. 57, 221-22.
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The buried treasures of the Ga. Coffin art in Ghana. Regula Tschumi. Bern: Benteli 2008, p. 242-43.
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The buried treasures of the Ga. Coffin art in Ghana. Regula Tschumi. Bern: Benteli 2008, p. 230-31.
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The buried treasures of the Ga. Coffin art in Ghana. Regula Tschumi. Bern: Benteli 2008, p. 52-66.
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was born in 1947 in the region of Akwapim, Ghana. He completed an apprenticeship with Kane Kwei in
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in: André Magnin (ed.): Contemporary Art of Africa. Thames and Hudson, London 1996, p. 76.
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was born in 1985 in Awutu Bawyiase, Central Region, Ghana. He was trained from 2002 to 2006 by
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Bell Gallery London. In 2006, he participated in the exhibition "Six Feet Under" at the
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i, African Arts, autumn 2010, p. 14-33: Roberta Bonetti reached the same conclusion as
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Alternate Histories of the Abebuu Adekai. Roberta Bonetti, African Arts, Autumn 2010.
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Among Christians, the use of custom coffins is relatively recent and began in the
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Regula Tschumi: The Figurative Palanquins of the Ga. History and Significance
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directed by Benjamin Wigley and produced by Anna Griffin, released in 2016.
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deceased depends in part on the use of an exclusive coffin during burial.
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Kudjoe Affutu has collaborated with various European artists, including
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in 2013 and South Korea for the Gwangju Biennale of Design in 2011.
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in Paris in 1989. The seven coffins shown in Paris were made by
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Concealed Art. The figurative palanquins and coffins of Ghana.
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The Figurative Palanquins of the Ga. History and Significance
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Ataa Oko and Kudjoe Affutu with Okos red rooster coffin 2009.
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Fantasy coffins are mainly used by the southern Ghana-based
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with his father Cedi since 2005, after graduating from
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in: African Arts, vol. 17, no. 2 (1974), p. 24-25
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with a variety of fantasy coffin designs, including a
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in: African Arts, Bd. 43, no. 3, 2010, p. 14-33.
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The buried treasures of the Ga: Coffin art in Ghana.
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and his third wife with a battleship coffin, c. 1960
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Going into darkness: Fantastic coffins from Africa.
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