Kwaku Yaro and Pearl Lam Galleries present Coat of Many Colours. The third artist in the gallery’s residency programme, Yaro hails from Ghana and is a self-taught mixed-media artist who possesses an extraordinary alchemist’s touch, transforming the mundane into the magnificent. During his three-month residency in Shanghai, Yaro bestowed new life into discarded materials: repurposing takeaway bags from Chinese restaurants, iconic ‘Ghana Must Go’ bags and humble burlap into striking artistic statements. These elements find new form layered upon African nylon mats and Chinese rattan summer mats, weaving cultural narratives of Ghanaian heritage with subtle Chinese motifs, including delicate bamboo references. The resulting body of work radiates a vibrant energy, commanding attention while inviting contemplation.
Kwaku Yaro also include intimate portraits of his inner circle in this body of work. His deep connection with each subject helps him bring them to life in his creations. These figures are seen adorned in spectacular and elaborate costumes crafted from the aforementioned reclaimed materials. This radical transformation challenges fundamental assumptions about conventional value and artistic mediums.
This means Yaro pushes boundaries with his choice of canvas — which often includes repurposed sleep and prayer mats, which are deeply personal objects reimagined as the foundation of his art. His technique, which nods to the pointillism of fellow Ghanaian artist Sami Bentil, creates a distinctive visual language that invites viewers to reconsider the boundaries of tradition and innovation. Taking its title from Dolly Parton’s celebrated song, the exhibition Coat of Many Colours invites viewers to witness the extraordinary metamorphosis of the ordinary, as Kwaku Yaro guides viewers through a compelling narrative of cultural exchange and sustainable artistry. This exhibition opened on the 27th of May and will run until the 5th of July 2025 at Pearl Lam Galleries, Shanghai.
About the artist
Born and raised in Labadi in the greater Accra Region of Ghana, Kwaku Yaro has cultivated a fresh and compelling artistic practice that reveals the everyday, the ordinary, and the mundane and transforms them into a space of social, religious and economic contemplation. Through his medium, Yaro advocates for resourcefulness and innovation. Polypropylene, a type of synthetic thermoplastic polymer that is processed into monofilament or multifilament and derived from petroleum, becomes the raw material in the production of the mats and shopping bags predominantly featured in Yaro’s work.
The artist uses a pointillism technique in his works and each spot represents the people of the town of Labadi, where he resides. His research and development practices go beyond the limitation of his five senses, and his works are a testament to his passion for detail. He is a member of the Artemartis collective, an Art Collective & Agency that focuses on development and management of visual artists in Accra.
