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Lisa C Soto

@duende_achuwe_countersite

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“ A home, an artist residency, a place of disconnection that will in turn reconnect one to pathways one normally doesn’t have access to…”

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At Duende Achuwe we ask for two contributions from our artists in residence… a book donated to our growing library and to spend some time with the locals in our village or nearby. @kwadwo_boafo_03 decided to work with two different elementary schools including Sedabuda Academy at @toddgrayla ‘s residency @sedabuda_
Thank you for your care and sharing your knowledge as a painter Kwadwo, we appreciate you!!! ✨👏🏽🌱 by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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2 hours ago

Please join us in welcoming our first artist in residence @kwadwo_boafo_03. Ernest Boafo is a young painter based in Accra who is part of the collective @studio.dialogues where I came to meet him and was introduced to his work. I was drawn to his use of deeply resonating colors and the issues he is trying to address, using color to explore the emotional depth of the stories he is exploring. His local community and personal experiences are his source addressing traditions, architecture, social and environmental issues and individual stories. We are excited to see the new works but also the personal and artistic impact Duende Achuwe Counter-sites might contribute through the process. by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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9 days ago

River sticks are the bones, an essential part of the infrastructure, on which to build a thatched covering. Tall grasses growing alongside the house, will be cut, dried and woven then layered onto the rooftop. We are combining modern materials corrugated cement sheets (decades of rot-proof, and weatherproof strength) and the traditional thatch, creating coolness under the Western Region’s sun. More to come as we go into the next phase of this home/artist residency in Ahanta land 🌱 Built by @yankeykobina and his team. taken in Western Region by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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3 months ago

There is this unexpected feeling that lands in your nervous system to tell you something has arrived. The feeling of a structure turning into a home arrived in me when I saw the last handmade shutter installed onto the smallest of the house’s 14 windows. Thank you @yankeykobina and our latest two man crew of carpenters committed to bringing us to the finish line. #sooncome #raffiahome by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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6 months ago

One overcast afternoon in May 2024, Yankey and I went to a lumberyard in Takoradi so I could familiarize myself with the different types of wood for local construction. I had recently asked Yankey if he would build me a simple house on the land, this was one of our many research trips to further my education on building. We were jumping between large puddles of rainwater in the swampy pathways between stands full of 14 or 16 foot long planks cut from a variety of local trees. A pile of glowing yellow wood caught my eye and brought me to a standstill.

I asked Yankey what it was. “This is Kusia” he explained - Nauclea diderrichii - a wood from the region. “It is very strong wood, it doesn’t fear insects, it doesn’t fear sea air, it doesn’t fear fire, naah”. He later added that Kusia was primarily used to build boat houses, outside verandas and sea defenses.

I chose this indigenous wood for my walls, it was the first of three types of high density, durable woods I would choose for my house at Duende Achuwe under Yankey’s guidance. taken in Western Region by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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8 months ago

Raffia Palm Forest in the Western Region, Ghana (before it was recently destroyed for Galamsey). This evergreen palm has a variety of uses including ropes, baskets, oil, palm wine, edible fruits, baker’s yeast, cabbage like vegetables, medicine such as laxative, and a kind of rubbing alcohol for pain as well as wood for building structures. 🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴 🌴 🌴🌴 🌴🌴🌴🌴 🌴🌴 🌴🌴 📸 @yankeykobina taken in Western Region by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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8 months ago

Thoughts to share …🌴
For over two decades, Yankey has dedicated his work to exploring and advocating for the use of the Raffia Palm Stick as a building material. This modest palm is abundant throughout the Western Region of Ghana, and both structurally resilient and light, it is easy to cut with a machete. The material possesses a natural resistance to termites and rot, and structures built from the Raffia sticks maintain a temperate interior climate.

We both struggle with the overuse of cement so we appreciate natural alternatives to lower the need for concrete. Though useful in many situations concrete can be problematic in tropical environments. Natural materials allow for better air flow and allow a house to be cool inside when it is hot outside. While cement tends to raise the temperatures inside, especially in the evenings after heat accumulation, making it considerably hotter inside than outside.

The accessibility of the Raffia palm is also important to Yankey, as this material can make a striking structure while being economically accessible.

Yankey has not only built my house/residency but his own homes, a kindergarten school and is in the midst of building a primary school using the branches of this arecaceae. 🌴 🌴 @yankeykobina @duende_achuwe #westernregion #ghana #buildingmaterials #raffiapalm taken in Western Region by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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8 months ago

Two years of planning, designing and building. We considered the land as we listened to the wind, watched the sun rise and fall, looked at the clearings Duende Achuwe offered as spaces to build within. This is a collaboration between us and the land, we are guests, protectors and students of this land in the hopes to teach others what we learn from her. Many more steps to take in order to complete the house, as we grow and are educated by the process. It is a privilege to live on this planet, if we can contribute knowledge, kindness, and love along the way to all around us both human and nonhuman beings, then we are the lucky ones. I am trying not to take that opportunity for granted while I go on this journey. I am incredibly thankful to @yankeykobina for manifesting this opportunity, building my home and whom I would not do this legacy project without, @dzidula_k for his desire to participate by designing this home/artist residency with @boateng_ck and being open to the collaborative process this has been and the one and only @johnproductart whose support has made this manifestation into a reality. #caribbeanartist #rastaartist 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱#artistresidencyforcaribbeanandafricanartists by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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10 months ago

House in progress… built by @yankeykobina architects @dzidula_k and @boateng_ck home of @lisacsoto #caribbeanartist and #artistresidencyfocusingonafricanandcaribbeanartists by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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a year ago

Contributing in the design of my home/artist residency at Duende Achuwe includes dzidula_k assisted by @boateng_ck. The house was co-designed and built by carpenter, artist and co-owner of Duende Achuwe Counter-site @yankey.kobina. Photography by the one and only @apreysing by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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a year ago

We are guests of this land and collaborators in creating space for experimental ways of creating, thinking and being. @yankeykobina @yankey.kobina @sotostudio_ #artists #rasta #carpenter #caribbeanartist #africanartist by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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a year ago

So we begin… #home #artistresidency #experimentalspace #ghana #bridgingthegap #caribbean #africa by @duende_achuwe_countersite

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a year ago