Collection: Raphael Adjetey Adjei Mayne

Raphael Adjetey Adjei Mayne (b. 1983, Accra, Ghana), also known as Afutumix, is a Ghanaian painter who lives and works in Cologne, Germany, where he has been based since 2013. He grew up in an environment that fostered his interest in textiles and clothing, and in 2004 graduated from Ghanatta College of Art and Design in Accra. His mixed-media paintings combine oil pastel, chalk and acrylic with African wax prints and recycled fabrics, which he collects, sews onto the canvas and then works over with paint. In this way he brings together Ghanaian textile heritage, including Adinkra patterns, with pop-culture logos and industrial materials. His figures – often young people in boldly patterned clothing – seem to float in front of flower fields or vibrating monochrome colour panels, while more recent works also place them in interiors. The anonymity of the figures lends the paintings a sense of universality, leaving viewers free to project their own identities onto them. He has shown in solo and group exhibitions in Europe and North America, including “Assuming you look like me” at GNYP Gallery in Berlin (2021) and his first solo exhibition in Finland, “WE US I”, at Makasiini Contemporary. The painting “Purple Chair” (2019), offered by TUMO Gallery, combines African wax print and acrylic on a large canvas of 205 × 162 cm.