LOST FISHES AND PRAYING MANTIS
Calvin Hein & Kay Kwabia
Calvin Hein and Kay Kwabia met at a photography exhibition in 202 and quickly realized they had similarities and differences: Calvin is Ghanaian and German and grew up in Germany and Kay is Ghanaian and grew up in Ghana. Photography and parentage were the main bonding themes, as well as questioning community and cultural heritage.
The residency project began with the following questions: How communities find themselves in diaspora? How do they bond, and how much home is there? Calvin and Kay invite each other to switch positions – not as random strangers, rather as members of those communities. This project is a search for clues: How does Ghana feel for a Ghanaian in diaspora? How do the communities in the diaspora feel for a local from Ghana? How many new things will we find, and how many will be familiar? How do the different experiences affect how we perceive the other? Are there still cultural borders or are they just fading in the eye of globalization?
Our specific interest is the opportunity to explore what it means to have multiple heritages. Heritage as a result of ancestry and heritage as a result of lived experiences. We want our work to be a place for people to learn about the importance of culture and cultural belonging.
As photographers with very distinct perspectives and approaches, we aim to use our craft and practice to explore these themes to provide and entry point for black people everywhere into these conversations to promote the learning and unlearning process. What are some concepts about culture and heritage we can unlearn and or modify? This residency provides the ideal environment to dwell on these themes and questions. As specific as they are, there is a universal undertone which we could delve deeper into during the residency.
About the artists
Calvin Hein lives in Dortmund and works in Germany and Ghana. His work centers around conceptual documentary and architecture photography. He is mostly interested in the intersection between society and nature and the question of whether our way of interaction with our environment is acceptable. Another big part of his practice is about his own identity as a German but also Ghanian who is trying to learn more about his heritage and family history.
Kay Kwabia is a photographer. He lives in Accra (Ghana). His work encompasses experiences from different parts of Ghana. His practice centers around a documentation of his environment with a focus on the routine, the mundane and otherwise perceived uninteresting. The way humans relate and perceive this environment and vice versa is very present in his practice.
