The Power of Choice / The Choice of Power, 2021

“The Power Of Choice / The Choice Of Power (TPOC / TCOP) is one of my favourite pieces. Conceived from a famous piece by Norman Rockwell which features Ruby Bridges, an American civil rights activist, who was the first African-American child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis on November 14, 1960.
Education is very important to me as you can see it in most of my pieces. I have a non profit organization called "Boxed kids" which helps kids to have access to education in Jamestown, an old district of Accra where my mother grew up. I created this artwork to highlight the struggle girls from that community are facing when it comes to education. Most of them are forced to stay at home to do chores or to help their parents selling goods. I believe this is not just happening in my community but also in most African countries. We have the power to support these kids so they can avoid being trapped in this situation and be able to make a fair choice regarding their future and their life in general. This piece echoes a famous proverb in my country that says If you educate a man, you educate an individual but if you educate a woman you educate a whole nation.
As most of my works, this piece has multiple entendres. Another reason for creating “TPOC / TCOP" was to create awareness on the benefits and consequences of our choices. I chose a young girl because it symbolizes and personifies what I see when I think about the the seed of life. We have the power to either become successful or to be a failure. We also need to be aware of the power we possess and what we choose to use it for. Are we abusing it or are we using it to impact lives? The Choice of Power and the Power of Choice.”