Female Voices in Art: Adelaide Damoah, Artist

Adelaide Damoah (b. 1976, London, UK) is an artist of Ghanaian descent working at the intersection of painting and performance within the context of diaspora, migration, belonging and memory. She graduated in Applied Biology from Kingston University, London, and she worked in the pharmaceutical industry before taking the decision to follow her passion for art in 2005. She was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2000 and battling constant recurring pain, art was a refuge and a healing tool for her. Her diagnosis caused her to re-evaluate her life. Adelaide is a founding member of the BBFA Collective (Black British Female Artists Collective) and has exhibited in the UK, Hungary, Venice, USA, Dakar, Lagos, and Morocco. She is represented by MTArt Agency in London.

Could you tell us something about your role in the art world?

I am an artist working between painting and performance. I use my body as a tool to paint and perform and I am interested in my personal family history and culture, colonialism, feminism and identity. I am a founding member of the BBFA Collective, a collective of female artists to address the lack of representation for black British female artists in the UK.

What did you enjoy about being a part of this project?

I really enjoyed the whole process of dressing up and being photographed by Carla! It felt like a kind of collaboration (with Carla expertly directing) and it was great to work with such an accomplished artist in this way. I felt comfortable and relaxed and able to be myself. This had a lot to do with being photographed by a woman. The absence of the male gaze made a significant difference to how I felt and moved in each moment. Being a part of such a significant project focused on women was a big plus for me.

Do you have a favourite artist?

I don’t really have a favourite, but my first art love was Frida Kahlo. Every day I am inspired by living artists who are my friends and colleagues. My BBFA collective sisters are immensely talented and supportive. They include Enam Gbewonyo, Ayesha Feisal and Carleen De Sözer. My friend, the sculptor Arlene Wandera is a big talent as is my friend Phoebe Boswell. Another one of my favourites and a huge inspiration and friend is Rachel Ara. She is a genius.

What is your earliest memory involving art?

A GCSE art class trip to see an exhibition called Frida Kahlo, Day of the Dead. We met David Hasslehoff AKA Knight Rider as he stepped out of a limousine on that day! After getting over Hasslehoff, I was entranced by the exhibition and that is when I fell in love with the life and work of Kahlo. That is also when I fell in love with painting and the possibilities of self-expression it brings.

Do you have any special thoughts about the position of women in the art world?

Talking specifically from a Western world perspective, we all know what the position has been historically and that the problem of representation, recognition and inequality still persists. However, I feel like we are living in exciting times for women and things are changing. More women are moving into positions of power and we are having this conversation frequently. Women are joining forces to create positive change everywhere. I feel positive about the future for women in art.

What are you wearing, and is there a story behind it?

I am wearing a regal peach and gold embellished dress that I bought at an old souk in Dubai in 2016. I stopped there for a few days en route to Ghana with my sister Abigail. It was our first holiday together since we were children and it was just before my birthday. My sister bought a blue version of the dress and we wore them when we got the plane from Dubai to Ghana. If not for the fact that we were in economy, people would have thought we were royalty! It brings back beautiful memories of that holiday and the time spent with my sister.

What impact has the current health crisis on your daily practice?

It has had a major impact in that I developed symptoms quite early on, in combination with a quite severe endometriosis flare up. The symptoms have thankfully cleared up now and included a persistent cough, difficulty breathing and crushing chest pain. To add to that, I had chronic, intense fatigue so just getting out of bed was incredibly difficult and I was honestly afraid that it could get very serious. While this was going on, I rested as much as possible and engaged a lot more in the research side of my practice. My current project is called, “Confronting Colonisation”, therefore, a large part of the project is historical research. This means I have done an awful lot of reading, which I love. I am now looking at materials and the research is starting to manifest into exciting ideas and ways of working which build upon my already existing techniques. Focusing on this project really kept me feeling hopeful and optimistic about the future.

Is it changing your views on Art?

If anything, this crisis has highlighted to me just how crucial art and artists are to making sense of the world we live in.

Are you creating new initiatives and ways of working?

I’ve always had a collaborative approach to working but the crisis has brought me much closer to the people I work with and has contributed to the development of new relationships with other artists I might not have considered working with before. This feels rather odd considering the fact that we have been unable to be in each other’s presence. I have started two reading circles too. We get together once a week on Zoom to read works that are important to our respective practices as artists, writers, curators and art advisors. We discuss what we learn and we each apply that learning to our work in unique ways. I had never used Zoom before this crisis. I have a feeling I’ll be doing a lot more Zoom meetings in future- which will save time and money compared to the numerous physical meetings I used to do all over London.