Serge Attukwei Clottey. Beyond the Skin

Serge Attukwei Clottey (Ghana, 1985) is invited to cover the façade of the early Modernista building of the Museu Tàpies (designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner) with a second skin, composed of tesserae made from waste material. To this end, the artist, through the use of yellow containers or galloons (initially used as cooking oil cans and later recycled to collect water), car tires and cork, will compose fragmented canvases revealing his concern for the culture and identity of the city where he was born and lives, and from which he draws the raw material for his creations.

His installation invites people to reflect on environmentalism and the prevailing worldwide economic system in the form of a public programme articulated through dialogue and collaboration with migrant communities residing in Barcelona. Some of the city’s historical debts will also be addressed, such as the recognition that part of its historical wealth was accrued through the slave trade.

The project includes the installation “Afterlife Voyage” and:

• “Step of Silence, Dance, Memories Resonate”. Opening, 2 July, 6.30 pm
• “The Coal Men”. Performance, 3 July, 7 pm and 8.30 pm
• “Sarah Maldoror. An Alternative Identity”. Cinema Programme, 25 and 27 September and 1 and 2 October, 6 pm
• “Architectures of the Skin: from the Body to the Street”. Seminar, 3 to 5 October

[Images: Museu Tàpies’ Façade, intervened by the artist Serge Attukwei Clottey, with the installation “Afterlife Voyage”, of the project “Beyond the Skin”, Barcelona, Catalonia, 2024 © Museu Tàpies. Photography: Eva Carasol, 2024.]