Ghanaian-German artist Zohra Opoku hopes to be taking us on a beautiful journey in her exhibition titled We Proceed in the Footsteps of the Sunlight at Zeitz MOCAA.
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Zohra tells us that We Proceed in the Footsteps of the Sunlight is a journey over the past 10 years of her art practice in Ghana, where she is based. You will find different works from different bodies of work spreading out over over different rooms. This was a way to tackle the identity of her being.
The various sections start with her looking at family memory and storytelling – .looking at matriarchy in Ghana. The self portraits she started screen printing in Ghana in 2015. She looks at the lives of single men based in Accra. The work titled Eternal Life is her largest body of work and probably her favourite. It is the most complex and layered. It is about identity and looking to ancient Egypt for inspiration. It’s a healing journey which brought her work to the next level, using collage, embroidery, and printing.
Zohra’s German background, in fashion and photography, have made a significant contribution to her work as an artist. Fashion was an interest from childhood. And the gift of an overhead Rolleiflex camera from her grandfather got her involved in photography at an early age. Her career in fashion made her realise that she’s an artist and needed to express herself. That move to become an artist began about 15 years ago.
This exhibition at Zeitz MOCAA is Zohra Opoku’s first solo institutional exhibition in Africa. And she credits curators, Dr Phokeng Setai and Beata America, for the amazing job they have done in presenting We Proceed in the Footsteps of the Sunlight. Over the past year they have taken the time to get to know her, her work, and her art practice. They have spent time together in Ghana and in Cape Town to work through the different phases of her work. And it makes sense to Zohra on how it has worked out in the exhibition.
The curatorial intent of the exhibition is to speak to emotional fortitude, mental tenderness, and spiritual depth. Visit We Proceed in the Footsteps of the Sunlight by Zohra Opoku and see for yourself what has been realised at Zeitz MOCAA.
WHAT: We Proceed in the Footsteps of the Sunlight – Zohra Opoku
WHERE: Zeitz MOCAA, Silo District, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town 8001
WHEN: Open to public until 4 October 2026
INFO: VISIT | see also Zeitz MOCAA presents We Proceed in the Footsteps of the Sunlight by Zohra Opoku opening 11 September
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