culture/street art – Graffiti Meets History      

Born in Sao Paulo, Alexendre Keto started graffiti art the traditional way, not long when he decided to create images of Black people living in his neighbourhood, mainly because he realised that they were not being appreciated.

As a way of putting smiles and hope on the faces of people in his community, Keto uses collages of fabric and graffiti spray to create intriguing images on walls. His portraits are mostly women. He explains that, he loves and respect women, grew up with his mother and also uses the maternal image as a representation of mother Africa.

For his next exhibition in Brazil, he is putting up images in African countries which had their citizens sent to Brazil during the slave days. The Bantus, Yorubas, Ga-Adangbes and many more were among the tribes to have arrived in Brazil in the seventeen century.

This era of history is embedded in Ghana’s history. Thousands of people from various tribes were sent from the Gold Coast to Brazil such as the Ewes, Ashanti and the Ga-Adangbes. This aspect of the slave trade particularly interests Keto. He has decided to trace back these ethnicities and travel some of the African countries which share this history.

Accra is the first stop of this journey dedicated to organic monuments of vibrant images and the whole yoyo tinz team is really excited about it. We can’t wait to see how Keto will transform the walls of the Ghanaian capital during his two-week stay. And because we want to share this special moment with the world, yoyo tinz will be bringing documentations of his works on the grounds. Keep checking this space for updates!

By : Selormjay