Exhibitions

Patrick Tagoe-Turkson is a prominent figure in contemporary Ghanaian visual art. His works reflect the visual culture of West Africa as well as current social and environmental challenges: the primary material of his artworks consists of discarded flip-flops collected along the Atlantic coastline.

Tagoe-Turkson’s artistic inspiration focuses on the coast and its ever-changing wildlife. The University of Fine Arts’ exhibition Rewoven Patterns features eight large-scale, installative works, repetitively structured wall objects composed of colour fragments. The compositions, created using a special technique from recycled flip-flop slippers, evoke the vibrant textile motifs of West Africa as much as the kaleidoscopic images of our childhood. Here, the metamorphosis of waste into art is not just an aesthetic gesture, but a reflection on issues of globalisation and sustainability.

Tagoe-Turkson spent three months in Budapest during the spring semester of 2025/26 at the invitation of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, with the support of the Ludwig Foundation. During this period, as a resident artist at the HAB Contemporary Art Center, his creative practice was profoundly influenced by local linguistic and visual motifs, which reappear in the works exhibited at the Etyeki Műhely Gallery.

Tekla Uszkay art historian

photos by István Lantos