The Line and Serge Attukwei Clottey

Tribe and Tribulation is a new public work by Ghanaian artist, Serge Attukwei Clottey and The Line’s first international collaboration. The tuated next to the Thames at Greenwich Peninslua

Water is a recurrent theme in Clottey’s practice and the work’s location next to the Thames at Greenwich Peninsula has been carefully chosen by the artist.

Co-curated with Arup Phase 2, Tribe and Tribulation was developed following Clottey’s research residency at Royal Museums Greenwich in 2021, during which he spent time with the museum’s curators exploring the collection and archives. The totemic sculpture, which stands at approximately 18ft high, comprises four cubes made of reclaimed wood and painted timbers from Ghanaian fishing boats. These have been assembled to resemble the large sound systems that are often an integral part of social events in Ghana.

The sculpture includes an embedded sound installation, with recordings from Cape Coast Castle, Elmina Castle, James Fort and a location on the Meridian Line in Tema. The first three sites were former slave forts in the then Gold Coast, with some of the buildings now designated as world heritage sites, honouring the memories of the enslaved captives. The sound installation in Tribe and Tribulation is projected north, south, east and west, inviting the listener to consider how life at these historic sites has changed over the years in a process which Clottey describes as “sound through the journey of time”.

Considering Art Podcast – Serge Attukwei Clottey