Founded by contemporary art specialist, social entrepreneur, and philanthropist Joseph Awuah-Darko, Noldor invites emerging African artists with limited access to resources to expand on their practice in a dedicated studio in Accra, Ghana. An initiative committed to nurturing African artists’ creative process while supporting their development.
The unconventional format of Noldor’s residency allows the project to unfold across two distinct spaces. For the first three weeks, Emmanuel Taku resides and creates in a large-scale warehouse studio space located in Accra’s seaside La district. The final week takes place in a secluded space in the periphery of central Accra, an alternative psychological retreat where he received personal, professional and creative guidance. This way, Noldor advances an organic and holistic approach to creation – one where emotional health nourishes an artist’s creative process.
Mentored by Ghanaian artist Gideon Appah, Taku produced a selection of works expanding on his existing style and with his distinct silk-screening approach. As a graduated of Visual Arts and Textiles, the Ghanaian artist uses a variety of materials, from acrylic to textiles and newspapers, which he applies on canvas, fiberglass, fiber net, mesh, or plywood.
After manipulating and exploring the materials, he captures the Black body in abstract form, recalling a human shape yet endowing it with a supernatural essence. In this way, Emmanuel Taku revisits a narrative in which the Black body is often objectified or politicized, he reclaims perceptions of Blackness, overturning them by affirming Black identity as one whole worthy of reverence, both historically and today.