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HISTORICAL ANTIQUITY – HARRIET TUBMAN
An artistic composition of Harriet Tubman, the protagonist of the Underground railroad. The background of the piece depicts secret letters written during the underground railroad. Executed in mixed media, Acrylic, and permanent marker on canvas. It measures 127cm x 127cm..
Composed by Stephen Abban Junior.
The moment I experienced his work, I had to ask Stephen Abban Junior to exhibit with Garden Spices Magazine. His work is a study of life in Ghana. Yet, he pays homage to liberator, Harriet Tubman. The warmth of the hues transports us to a nurturing way of being that can only be created by this artist. Garden Spices is overjoyed to travel to Ghana with the work of Stephen Abban Junior. – Victorine
SELF PORTRAIT SIZE: 16 x 20 MEDIA: Mixed-Media SUPPORT: Canvas ARTIST: Stephen Abban Junior COUNTRY : Ghana. DATE: 11th August, 2019
About
Stephen Abban Junior
Stephen Abban Junior is a native of Enyan-main in Mankessim, a town in the central Region, Ghana. He started practicing art at an early age of … with his Uncle, Abam, a Farmer and one of the prominent personalities in the village being his financial backbone. After dabbling in visual Art in high school, he read Commercial Art (Painting) at the Takoradi Technical University (TTU) and graduated with a Higher National Diploma. Furthering his education, he is currently reading a degree in Bachelor of Technology in Studio Practice at TTU.
He discovered his artistic style while finishing his HND program and from there, he adopted the art of adding antiquity to his works. In achieving such a nostalgic effect, he creates washes of earth colors to create a vintage effect and with the help of his permanent marker, he executes his figures. His day-to-day work focuses on keeping and restoring historical figures.
UNTITLED MEDIA: Permanent Marker and Acrylic. SUPPORT: Primed Canvas. SIZE: 50 inches x 70 inches ARTIST: Stephen Abban Junior COUNTRY: Ghana. MFD: 12th December 2018.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Illustrations on the walls of Mama Agartha, his mother, as a means of keeping memory. A short-term memory loss ushered his illustration on the walls of his mothers’ bedroom during his early childhood. This is to help recall his thoughts, moral lessons and values passed on by his parents. That called for his moral commission as at age eight by most of his basic school teachers; Mr. Tetteh was the initiator.
The formalism of Stephen Abban Junior’s oeuvre is comprised largely of figurative representations which the feminine figure dominates, thereby allotting Fluidity, unclenching, and amnesty in his journey through his executions. Abban uses the human body (depicted in varied postures and spaces) metaphorically, as a way to address the pertinent historical narratives that are reticent in contemporary history.
Art is the only profession where its past is as relevant as its present. Hence the antiquity of an artifact adds up to its value. Inspirations from natures aging on historical antique objects (old medieval manuscripts) have resulted in the creation of watercolor-like washes on the background of his works.
Moral lessons are hardly thought during this century and seem to be vanishing, for its survival, lessons learned from his parents and elders during his infancy, folk stories, and stories in traditional Ghanaian songs will be inculcated in his future compositions for the benefit of the current and future generations
STEPHEN ABBAN JUNIOR, TAKORADI, GHANA
Stephen Abban Junior
Stephen Abban Junior
BIOGRAPHY
Stephen Abban Junior is a young contemporary Ghanaian artist currently working and living in Sekondi-Takoradi (the twin city of the Western Region, Ghana). He is a native of Mankessim, in the Central Region of Ghana. Abban’s passion for art began at an early age, scribbling on walls and replicating popular cartoon characters in books and on any available sheet of paper. His uncle, Abam, a farmer and one of the prominent personalities in the village, supported him throughout his artistic journey.
EDUCATION
Abban studied visual arts in the senior high school and holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in commercial arts (painting) from the Takoradi Technical University and also went on an International exchange program in Europe-Hungary to study visual representation (Fine Art) at Eszterhazy Karoly University in Eger-Hungary but currently pursuing a Bachelor of Technology degree in painting (studio practice) at the same university.
Artwork displayed at: Saatchi Art
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