Ibrahim Mahama at Bonhams, © Bonhams
Ibrahim Mahama (b. 1987, Tamale, Ghana) is a Ghanaian artist whose large-scale installations and transformative works explore themes of crisis, labor and global capitalism, using common materials as vessels of historical and social narratives. Best known for his use of jute sacks - originally made in Southeast Asia and used in Ghana for transporting cocoa, coal and commodities - Mahama repurposes these textiles as symbols of colonial and capitalist networks, imprinted with the traces of labor and trade. He views these materials as archival documents, layering them with histories of failure, hope, and renewal.
Mahama's immersive public works, such as Out of Bounds (2015) at the Venice Biennale, envelop buildings and spaces with jute sacks, creating dialogues between local and global histories. His projects often involve collaboration with artisans, traders and communities, emphasizing the human stories embedded in his materials. Works like Non-Orientable Nkansa (2017), using shoemaker boxes and A Grain of Wheat 1918–1945 (2015–18), with reworked WWII ambulance stretchers, examine the intersection of anonymous labor and global events.
In Parliament of Ghosts (2019), Mahama transformed remnants of Ghana's colonial-era train infrastructure into spaces for dialogue, while his cultural regeneration projects, such as Nkrumah Volini and the Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art, repurpose abandoned silos and airplanes to foster local and global exchange.
Through installations and "fabric paintings" using Dutch wax cloth, Mahama critiques the commodification of African identity while embedding his works in Pan-African cultural narratives. His exhibitions span major institutions worldwide, including Documenta 14, the Venice Biennale and The High Line, with his practice symbolizing a fusion of art, history and social transformation.