or will you take an enema before you eat?’
All of the flags in the exhibition, including a small number for sale, seem to communicate with one another—proverbs bouncing back and forth, soldiers ready for action, animals sparring, and opponents trembling. Seeing them amassed in this way gives a sense of the cacophony of colors and confrontations that run through an Asafo procession.
Alongside the Asafo flag display, the work of Patrick Tagoe-Turkson, a contemporary Ghanaian artist based in Takoradi, can be seen. Working in response to the Effutu Asafo traditions, Tagoe-Turkson creates colorful, hand-stitched flags, using imagery and text to comment on contemporary issues from road safety to political doublespeak. Tagoe-Turkson’s presence reminds the visitor that the Nubuke Foundation is seeking not just to preserve and promote Ghanaian cultural history but to make connections between contemporary practitioners and enduring local traditions.