‘We are preserving a tradition’: how Ghana’s sensationalist film posters became collectible art
Ghanaian hand-painted film posters, once used to advertise local video clubs, have evolved from functional marketing tools into globally recognized collectible art. These posters are known for their surreal and often inaccurate depictions of the films they promote.
Why it matters
This highlights the intersection of local cultural history and the global art market, preserving a unique form of folk art.
Hand-painted film posters on show at the Centre for National Culture in Accra, Ghana. Hand-painted works are often wildly unfaithful to the movies they portray – reinterpretations that sometimes resulted in threats, insults and even physical attacks from viewers who felt duped
Prefer the Guardian on Google S itting on his porch in Teshie near Accra, Heavy J dipped a brush into red oil paint and dabbed it carefully on to his canvas – a flour sack – adding blood to a knife being wielded by a man. Higher on the canvas, he had started on an outline of a skull.
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