HOW WE GO DO AM

“How we go do am” (How shall we dance this dance / Come balliamo questo ballo) is a term used in everyday speak in the pidgin language. It is usually used to acknowledge a given situation that could range from personal to national/ political and signal a willingness to make the most of a particular status quo and forge a better path ahead. In the context of the scrapyard in Kumasi it is used to conote acceptance of both unpleasantand pleasant situations faced by all professionals habiting and working in the space. From garage masters to apprentices, from owners of food vending shops to their workers, from freelance mechanical artisans to hawkers peddling chilled water, drinks and snacks, “how we go do am?” is a question that ponders and opens up physical and ideological possibilities that help them navigate or “dance to the tunes” of the dynamic and chaotic order of the scrapyard. In the context of this exhibition, it serves as a vehicle to reflect on the scrapyard as a byproduct of a global industrial complex. It draws on the willing participation of its inhabitants (both human and mechanical) to claim, question, and build upon its realities as a conceptual springboard. In turn, it posits the artist’s practice as emerging from, and shaped by, the scrapyard and its systems.