Lauren-Loïs Duah

In the Ghanaian language Twi (or Akan), ‘Obroni Wa-wu’ refers to second-hand clothing, but its literal translation is “someone must have died to let go of all these items.” The clothing industry is a powerful portal into the worlds of labour, migration, and supply chain economies which have ‘cross-continental’ consequences. Unravelling the complex weave of clothing’s supply chain exposes so many loose threads that the story immediately begins to fray. This work, a tapestry, tries to unravel the seams of the clothing supply chain industry, showing how Western consumers have become alienated from the sites of production that facilitate their voracious consumption. The project explores the way fast fashion is underpinned by racial capitalism, and the effect of the Global North’s ‘dirty laundry’ in creating these vast cross-continental ‘clothescapes’ in cities such as Accra, Ghana.

With special thanks to
Maame Yaa, the extended family, friends, residents and Kayayei women within and around Kantamanto Market (Ghana), The OR Foundation
With the additional support of
African Futures Institute