A new artwork by Ibrahim Mahama transformed our Lakeside Terrace, enveloping the building’s iconic concrete walls with approximately 2000 square metres of bespoke woven cloth.
Purple Hibiscus was created in collaboration with hundreds of craftspeople from Tamale in Ghana where the colossal panels of pink and purple fabric were woven and sewn by hand, to be fitted to the brutalist planes of our building.
100 ‘batakaris’ – robes worn by Ghanaian kings – were embroidered onto the artwork. Often saved by families over generations, these precious textiles carry the imprints of the figures they once clothed, signifying the continued relevance of intergenerational knowledge. Ibrahim Mahama holds a deep interest in the life cycles of textiles and what can be learnt from the historical memories embedded within them.
Purple Hibiscus was part of Unravel: The Power & Politics of Textiles in Art.
The commission was made possible by Tia Collection with Associate Sponsor: Culture Mile BID. Additional generous support from The Ampersand Foundation and The African Arts Trust.
Learn more about the commission
The Barbican was designed to be different
Creating Purple Hibiscus
Ibrahim Mahama on making Purple Hibiscus
We asked the artist behind the work where his inspiration came from, how his collaborative practice works, and why he strayed away from the usual earthy tones of previous work to something so bright and vibrant.
Installing Purple Hibiscus
Watch the transformation of our Lakeside Terrace as Ibrahim Mahama’s Purple Hibiscus was installed over several weeks.
See how the fabric was made
Watch footage of the making of Purple Hibiscus in Tamale where hundreds of craftspeople around Ghana wove the fabric by hand.
Courtesy of Ibrahim Mahama. Filming by OBL Studios, Tamale, Ernest Sackitey and Red Clay, Tamale.
