Of Asante descent, Godfried Donkor has long been concerned with the trajectories of the African diaspora. Together with archival research, travel is a core part of his practice, tracing routes but also philosophies that span from West Africa to the Americas. His field notes author a literal and fictive kinship, finding their form across paper, collage, ink, paint and embroidery.
A recurring theme involves the demonstration of Black men as agents of their destiny. The oil-and-acrylic Powerman (2022) and Superman vs. Muhammad Ali (2022) interpolate images from comics, while Michael & the Dragon (2025) mythologises an eighteenth- century Black bare-knuckles pugilistic champion. Here, Donkor reflects on the history and complicated appeal of masculine combat, particularly in the Black working class over time. His collage works invoke the duelling impulses of sentimentalism and historical accounting when taking stock of the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade. Partial pages of the Financial Times, employed as background or accents, cohabitate with images of historical and allegorical Black figures and elements from prints, photographs and drawings of slave ships or imperial vessels.
Donkor’s compositions stage a delicate interplay between vulnerability, convivial collectivity and the archive. They crystallise the evolutionary capacity for a new Black masculinity that integrates restrictive stereotypes and prioritises emotional intelligence rather than silent endurance.
—Rianna Jade Parker
