Amoako Boafo

In the summer of 2021, renowned Ghanaian contemporary artist Amoako Boafo arrived at a secure facility in the West Texas desert to embark upon an unusual commission.

The Letter (2019) moves between video, performance, sound, and text. It takes as a starting point the haunting reminiscence of a group of West Africans in 19th century Vienna. By following the traces left, an analysis of archival structures and the objects housed within them is opened up, pointing to an understanding of the past as not past but as a gateway for interrogations of Diasporan temporalities.