Swopa Sirigu, Two Birds and Crocodile, 2000s, Screenprint, Framed

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a screenprint by the sirigu women's organisation for pottery and art (swopa) of ghana's upper east region, … Read more About this piece:

a screenprint by the sirigu women's organisation for pottery and art (swopa) of ghana's upper east region, depicting two stylised birds perched on a crocodile. The composition sets bold black-and-white graphic motifs against a deep red ground, drawing directly on the wall-painting tradition of sirigu, where women have for generations decorated the adobe walls of their compounds in red, black and white — motifs recording ancestral stories, beliefs, and the rhythms of daily life.

signed lower right and numbered 2/50 lower left. Printed on handmade paper; the image measures 51 × 76 cm.

swopa was founded in 1997 by melanie kasise, beginning with fifty-four women, to revive a tradition then in serious decline as young women left the village for work. The organisation has since trained more than four hundred women across pottery, basketry, weaving and painting, and now operates a gallery, workshop and guesthouse in sirigu. Its members travel as far as accra to paint churches, restaurants and hotels — carrying an indigenous artistic language well beyond its village of origin.

presented in a dark wooden frame under glass and delivered by white-glove service, ready to hang. A companion print from the same edition, depicting a lizard and spiral motif, is also available. See less