Ghanaian-Canadian Ekow Nimako is an artist who uses Lego to sculpt Afrofuturist visions and historical reimaginings. The University of Wyoming (UW) will display his artwork and host the artist for a keynote talk Wednesday, Jan. 31.
Ekow Nimako's sculptures are constructed entirely out of black Lego pieces and they depict subjects, themes, people and places unlikely to be found in a traditional lego set — like African, and specifically Akan, culture, spirituality and history.
Like the music of Janelle Monae or the Africanfuturist stories of Nnedi Okorafor, Nimako's sculptures center Black people or Black cultures amid futuristic narratives and imagery.
"All movements of liberation start with some kind of future imagining," he said. "If you're not free, then you have to imagine yourself free in order to try and achieve that kind of freedom."
His "Asamando" sculpture reimagines a piece of African history, specifically the story of a Mali king who set sail into the Atlantic more than a century before Columbus. Neither the king nor his fleet ever returned.
Like many of his other works, the piece isn't immediately recognizable as a Lego sculpture. Nimako said he tries to push the boundaries of the medium by obscuring some of Lego's tell-tale signs — such as the studs that hold one piece to another.
"They have such an iconic presence in the world, that it was important for me to try to strip away some of that iconography, and just embrace it as this raw material," he said.
Nimako will present a keynote talk on Jan. 31 in Room 111 of the Visual Arts Building and host a free public workshop the following day. Asamondo will be on display in the Visual Arts Building starting Jan. 31 and remain on display through February.
Tune into Open Spaces on Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. or Feb. 4 at 12 p.m. to hear a more in-depth conversation with the artist. It can also be found wherever you get your podcasts.
