Assuming that one has been to a museum, the first thing they would envision an art were its beauty. If it’s colorful enough, if it caught their attention, or if it’s worth the view. Often times, we miss the full stories as to why an art is made. We overlook it’s history, the style, or even the artist itself. Serge Attukwei Clottey’s The Wishing Well is a great example of an art installation with a beautiful history, style and an inspirational message for viewers like me.
Sergei Clottey is a Ghanaian artist who is well known for his installation and sculpture. He also created this artistic concept called Afrogallonism; a concept to explore the relationship between the prevalence of the yellow oil gallons in regard to consumption and necessity in the life of the modern African lifestyle and Art. His goal is to transform society’s lifestyle through art.
Due to rapid urbanization, more than 50 percent of the 2 million residents in Accra Region of Ghana don’t have a proper water source per household. Often times, locals would rely on unsafe waters from vendors. This eventually would result in frequent or sometimes a deadly water borne illnesses. Certain areas of the Accra region also became a dumping site for plastic materials. Hence, the locals did not have a choice but to either find a way to use certain items such as oil containers. According to Unicef, one out of five children experience extremely high-water vulnerability and about four in five people may be drinking water contaminated with fecal matter in the point of use. Large organizations across the globe have collaborated with Ghana and all parts of Africa, and any other third world country to address issues regarding water scarcity, stress, and extreme water vulnerability. If no action is done, estimated by 2040, one out of four children will live in areas of extremely high-water stress. Children and families in vulnerable communities face struggles of coping with high water scarcity levels while having the lowest water services, making it susceptible to climate shocks and extreme events.
Dr. Clottey’s style in The Wishing Well installation is very simple. During his Desert X interview, he mentioned that he used the yellow color for world representation. He states that the color yellow itself also represents richness. Located in a small park in Palm Springs, California, a visitor will see 2 cubes from afar. Once a person enters the park, they’ll see a bigger cube structure with fine square of yellow plastic cuts from an oil container. The installation site is a little bit more hidden, but the site itself is a perfect spot for wind and heat conditions. On a good windy day, the cube itself would help block a strong wind, and also give its shade on a warm, sunny day.
Dr. Clottey shared in Desert X that the gallon, represents the soul of surviving the water scarcity, and that the gallon also represent people. Dr. Clottey added that every individual has a gallon. Due to improper water storage and shortage, the locals in a small town in Ghana would use an oil container for water storage. Over time, the number of plastic locals would use started piling out, to the point where the plastic containers and other plastic materials were also being thrown out in the sea.
While certain areas in smaller towns of Ghana are not cemented, locals would start using plastic containers, cut them in smaller pieces, tie it with wires and use it as a wall, roof, or even a pathway. The small project became a big part of a small community and it continues to expand especially in our present time. The way Dr. Clottey also gathered the locals were another creative way of building art together, without knowing that the locals themselves have created an art on its own. Dr. Clottey also mentioned in Desert X that the Cube represent survival, given the plastic texture and how long will it survive in the heat, or any other climate or weather condition.
While the instillation is still on view, Dr. Clottey’s Wishing Well would remain as one of my favorite artworks in Desert X. The way he portrayed the history and lifestyle in small town of Ghana shows the creativity the community made, despite its poverty and inaccessible resources. Dr. Clottey brought the Wishing Well in the American desert to show us viewers that anything can be resourceful, especially in times where almost everything is inaccessible.
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