Ataa Oko

Ataa Oko, 22 x 15 cm, 80 color ill., 144 pp.Infolio/Collection de l'Art Brut, Gollion/Lausanne, 2010.

Ataa Oko (1919) of Ghana suddenly took up drawing at the age of eighty-three. At first, it was from memory that he drew the personalized figurative coffins that he had once built as a carpenter craftsman. Gradually, he began seeking inspiration beyond the scope of his memory, opening the way to an abundance of new, brightly colored subjects.  Privy to visits from the spirits and constantly connected with the Hereafter, Ataa Oko remains linked as well to the spiritual beings he depicts on paper.

Sitting at a makeshift table in front of his house, Ataa Oko undauntedly continues working at his œuvre, which today comes to some 2,500 colored-pencil drawings produced over a six-year (2003-2009) period. This is the first publication devoted to this author of African Art Brut.