In the late 1980s and 1990s, as VHS technology spread across Africa, local entrepreneurs in Ghana began screening films in makeshift video clubs powered by generators. To advertise these screenings, artists, often self-taught, were commissioned to create bold, hand-painted posters on recycled flour sacks. With little reference material beyond a rough plot description or a fleeting VHS cover, these painters leaned into imagination, exaggeration, and raw creativity, producing works that were often more surreal, violent, or humorous than the films themselves. The result was a remarkable fusion of folk art and pop culture: one-of-a-kind paintings that now stand as artifacts of both outsider artistic ingenuity and global movie history.
Join us next Wednesday for a very special one-night-only pop up exhibition in New York City, hosted by our friends Deadly Prey Gallery. We'll have a diverse selection of original artwork, limited edition prints, and affordable mini posters available.
Spoke Art presents: Deadly Prey
Hosted at Hashimoto Contemporary
54 Ludlow Street
New York, NY 10002
One Night Only:
Wednesday October 1st
6pm to 8:30pm
