Textile Waste and Coastal Life Enter the Art Conversation

Image: Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku (left) and Francesco Bellina (right). Image source: Ghana News Agency.

A September report from the Ghana News Agency spotlighted Tides of Humanity, an Accra exhibition bringing together Ghanaian textile artist Emmanuel Aggrey Tieku and Sicilian photographer Francesco Bellina. Their work addressed marine environments and the lives connected to them.

Tieku works with discarded second-hand clothing gathered from places including Kantamanto Market, beaches and landfills. Bellina’s photography connected his Sicilian fishing background with experiences in Ghanaian coastal communities. Together, their contributions linked environmental questions with personal and cultural histories.

The exhibition offers a concrete example of a direction worth following in contemporary art: materials are becoming part of the argument, rather than simply a means of making an image. Used fabric can hold evidence of consumption, movement and unequal environmental burdens.

For viewers, the starting question is simple: where did this material come from? Following that question can open a different conversation about beauty, responsibility and the communities represented in an artwork.

Published 1 October 2026.

Source: https://gna.org.gh/2026/09/ghanaian-italian-artists-use-art-to-confront-climate-change-waste-colonialism/