“My artworks explore the role of the assemblage in contemporary art and in a global
context whereby memories are transformed into a continuous experience of forms
with everyday materials. I navigate issues of commodity by weaving and joining
materials with references of geographical, cultural, psychological, and material
space of both Ghana and US. The collection of the found objects I repurpose
demonstrates a unique logic born out of my understanding of value, history, space,
and materiality. The choice of material, and its manipulation creates the feeling
associated with the viewer’s experience of the artwork. In this regard, the viewer
becomes a concept that guides my creative processes, since in the process of
making the art, I imagine how the viewer would respond to my decisions during
exhibition.
The embedded sense of humor in my artworks make the viewers active instead of being passive while they read their own meanings into familiar materials that have been transformed. The evidence of intricacy within the way I position the objects makes the work a laughable element due to the manipulation separated from its natural processes. The French composer Erik Satie, who used multiple keys during his piano performance to create ambiguous music in the twentieth century has influenced my perspective of assemblage.
I am fascinated by how the history of form contributes to aesthetic values and overall understanding of contemporary art. I am interested in the way that space and time develop the realization of culture, consumption of beliefs, and idiosyncratic perception of satisfaction. My artworks possess the sense of expectations, presupposition, ambiguity, and preconception of meaning. I employ juxtaposition as a medium to articulate artistic power which creates a sensation for the viewers to critically experience the artwork through the incorporation of multiple images.” ⏤ Opoku
About the Artist: Emmanuel Manu Opoku was born and raised in Kumasi, Ghana. He holds M.F.A. in Sculpture from the University of Florida in Gainesville and B.F.A. in Painting from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. He is a recipient of James J. Rizzi Studio Award, Harold Garde Studio Art Award, College of the Art Dean's Award, and the Outstanding International Student Award. Emmanuel has participated in several exhibitions in Ghana and the United States. He currently lives in Gainesville, Fl.
The embedded sense of humor in my artworks make the viewers active instead of being passive while they read their own meanings into familiar materials that have been transformed. The evidence of intricacy within the way I position the objects makes the work a laughable element due to the manipulation separated from its natural processes. The French composer Erik Satie, who used multiple keys during his piano performance to create ambiguous music in the twentieth century has influenced my perspective of assemblage.
I am fascinated by how the history of form contributes to aesthetic values and overall understanding of contemporary art. I am interested in the way that space and time develop the realization of culture, consumption of beliefs, and idiosyncratic perception of satisfaction. My artworks possess the sense of expectations, presupposition, ambiguity, and preconception of meaning. I employ juxtaposition as a medium to articulate artistic power which creates a sensation for the viewers to critically experience the artwork through the incorporation of multiple images.” ⏤ Opoku
About the Artist: Emmanuel Manu Opoku was born and raised in Kumasi, Ghana. He holds M.F.A. in Sculpture from the University of Florida in Gainesville and B.F.A. in Painting from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. He is a recipient of James J. Rizzi Studio Award, Harold Garde Studio Art Award, College of the Art Dean's Award, and the Outstanding International Student Award. Emmanuel has participated in several exhibitions in Ghana and the United States. He currently lives in Gainesville, Fl.
