Ibrahim Mahama
In Dear Home of Scars
Art
Synopsis
Dear Home of Scars
In Dear Home of Scars, we see celebrated visual artist Ibrahim Mahama return to his hometown of Tamale in Northern Ghana to visit Red Clay Studio, a lively cultural centre and art space he founded, where he works on a new art installation involving old colonial railcars and the reconstruction of a stretch of track. During British rule of Ghana (1821-1957), the colonisers used trains to transport gold and other resources to the coast. Remnants of track now lie abandoned as silent reminders of this history of exploitation. They are ‘scars in the landscape’, in the words of Mahama.
The project brings new energy and self-awareness to local residents. Meanwhile, Mahama reflects on his role as a sought-after artist and builder of local communities.
Credits
- Character
- Ibrahim Mahama
- Director
- Marina Meijer
- Country
- Ghana
- Duration
- 20 min
- Year
- 2024
- Co-producer
- Een van de Jongens
Ibrahim Mahama lays bare colonial scars with his monumental art installations. He is also building an infrastructure for the flourishing Ghanaian art scene.
Ibrahim Mahama
Ibrahim Mahama (1987) is a Ghanaian visual artist who lives and works in Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale. He is celebrated internationally for using artefacts and discarded materials to create monumental art installations which draw attention to the tangible remnants of history. He lays bare the scars of the colonial past and the failure of capitalist systems, while infusing historical objects with a new, more hopeful layer of meaning.
As one of the most celebrated contemporary artists in the world, Mahama uses his fame and resources to actively improve social conditions in Ghana and to build the infrastructure for a flourishing local art scene.
Acclaims
- Ranked sixth most influential person in the artworld in 2023 by ArtReview
- Founder of various art and educational spaces in Ghana, including Red Clay Studio, Savannah Centre for Contemporary Arts (SCCA) and Nkrumah Volini
- Winner of the Principal Prince Claus Award 2020 and the Sam Gilliam Award 2024
- At the top of ArtReview’s Power 100 list as the most influential figure in the international art world, from December 2025 to December 2026.
Artist Talk at Stedelijk Museum
In 2024, a preview of Dear Home of Scars took place in the auditorium of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
Afterwards, artistic director Rein Wolfs and design curator Amanda Pinatih spoke with Ibrahim Mahama about how his practice and studio bring people closer to culture. They also talked about Mahama’s transformations of materials to create installations and artworks that explore themes of commodification, migration, and economic globalization.
Read the full conversation on the Stedelijk Studies website.
- SCREENINGS & REACH
- Best Short Documentary
- Fine Arts Film Festival 2025
Director
Marina Meijer
Marina Meijer (1987) is a documentary maker and film teacher. Her documentaries are often set in an intimate, defined world such as a cargo ship on the North Sea, a small village in the Brazilian mountain, or a Rotterdam ’transformation centre’ for young men with problems. Her films have premiered at international film festivals such as IDFA, Hotdocs Toronto and Cinéma du Réel. Carrousel (2019) won Best Documentary at the Netherlands Film Festival.