Bracing political issues of infrastructure, environmental degradation, and resource allocation in Ghana and across the African continent at large through the figure and allegorical forms, Jephthah Aikins Bentsil-Kobiah’s allegorical paintings are invested in notions of justice and progress. In Ancestry Connection, the artist figures a young Black woman wading in water, in a local nature site. The background is verdant and lush green, but the water is brown because of fracking and mining for gold by foreign interests. From a compositional perspective, he spares no detail. The woman’s hair is elegantly rendered, every coil on her head a deliberate attestation of beauty and value. The trees are expansive and flourishing, made to look like they have been on the land for centuries. Even the water, while spoiled by the excesses of greed, glimmers with golden undertones. Beauty is always the delivery system for heavier subject matter. In the artist’s work “Me te sika so,” a young Black man sits in the center of the tableau. He holds a GHC 1 note in his hand. His facial expression suggests he is dejected and downtrodden about his fortunes. To his left, an extended Black hand reaches to offer a gold bar. On his right, a hand reaches to touch his shoulder in consolation. The young man sits atop a trove of gold bars. The work is inspired by Nana Akufo-Addo’s famed 2016 quote “Yɛ te sika so nanso ɛkɔm de yɛn,” which translates to “We are sitting on wealth, yet we are hungry.” The artist offers a hard look at international politics and Ghanaian society as a whole in the hope that it may act as a call to action to end the suffering of everyday people and allow them to reclaim their power. In A Heddle for Greener Pastures, Benstil-Kobiah masterfully sets a scene awash in vibrant hues of blues on the Mediterranean Sea. In the tableau, a throng of people clamors aboard a ship bound for the supposedly “greener pastures” on the shores of Europe. There are several men hoping to be pulled out of the open water into the already overcrowded seacraft. This is not merely a figment of the artist’s imagination. In recent years, countless West Africans have begun harrowing journeys through the Sahara desert in search of passage to Italy, Spain and other countries beyond the Mediterranean in pursuit of better economic opportunities. It is a journey that has claimed the lives and freedom of many. He calls into question what is going wrong that people must “put themselves in danger…to take care of their families.” Bentsil-Kobiah juxtaposes symbols as a catalyst for raising awareness of the issues affecting Ghanaian people’s economic fortunes at home and abroad. Like many African nations, Ghana is rich in natural resources including bauxite, diamonds, gold, limestone, natural gas and oil reserves and many more valuable assets that could be directly benefiting the inheritors of the land. Nearly 70 years after establishing independence from British colonial authority, there are barriers to the indigenous people benefitting from the value naturally imbued in the soil. The works bolster the artist’s case for the creation of a dynamic African-centered industrial revolution that could help bring work to the youth and preserve the land for generations to come.
Essay by: Niama Safia Sandy

“Me to Sika so”
Acrylic and Collage on Canvas | 48 x60 inches

Dilemma
Acrylic on Canvas|  34 x38 inches

A Heddle for Greener Pastures II
Acrylic on Canvas | 69 x60 inches

Ancestry Connection
Acrylic on canvas |150 x 150 cm 2023

wise up!
Acrylic on canvas | 36 x 42 inches

Strange Land
Acrylic on Canvas | 39.25 x 47.25 inches