ARTIST BIO
Seyram Agbleze is a Ghanaian artist, with Nigerian roots, whose works explore identity, history, and the current state of Africa. His works span across writing, visual art and film. Most of his works shed light on historical exploitation and the power continuity it perpetuates. He attended Central University College in Ghana and lives in Accra.
In 2022 he was named in Undocublack Network’s Black Personalities of Choice for Black History Month (Lift Every Voice Up Series by thehub.news). He is a fellow of the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA).
Seyram previously curated the Love for Immigrants’ exhibit themed: Unweaved Stories and founded the Love for Humanity initiative – a community empowerment project in Ghana.
ARTWORK DESCRIPTION
Kente Souls (Slave Ship) is a monumental/large-scale new work by Ghanaian
artist Seyram Agbleze. Created from Ghana’s iconic Kente cloth, this large-scale textile art piece was crafted in collaboration with Ewe Kente weavers from the Agotime-Kpetoe community in the Volta Region of Ghana.
The woven human figures, or motifs, represent the enslaved victims of the transatlantic slave trade, while the background artwork evokes the ‘slave ships’ that carried them on their inhumane journey. The use of Kente cloth is deeply symbolic, highlighting Africa’s rich cultural heritage and the skills and knowledge that enslaved people took with them to the Americas.
This work emphasizies the importance of learning from the past to guide our future. The human figure motifs (Kente Souls) in the artwork draw inspiration from the
artist’s earlier work, Sankofa Reflections, 2023 which explores the Adinkra symbol (Sankofa) for learning from the past.
Love4Immigrants 