Butterflies are sign of good thing

An observational research on women in Accra, about their ways to survive in the lack of economical opportunities.

"Maryland Maryland

Is my dream

And I wish to be there

And I will be there

Whether they like it or not

It’s true

I want to be there and I will be there

Because

Anything that I always think

And imagine or

I pray to God"

BUTTERFLIES ARE A SIGN OF A GOOD THING is a collaborative project about sex work in Accra, about young women and their ways to survive in the lack of economical opportunities.

I consider this work as an ongoing artistic research with the aim to develop a visual language that reveals personal and therefore subjective views on sex work, because it is based on the close relationships with my subjects.

Background: Since 2013 I am involved into an artistic research about sex work in Western European Capitals like Brussels, Athens, and Paris. From the beginning, the close relationship to my subjects has been instrumental.

Through my experiences in exploring this field in Western Europe, I have met several West-African women from places like Nigeria and Ghana. I became familiar with their attitudes and culture, which they continue to try to preserve in their new cultural environment. The relationship to them was always very thrilling to me, they gave me an intense inspiration and we created friendships. It has ever since fascinated me to visit their home countries for a even better understanding of them, but also for a even better understanding of my own source of inspiration.

It was in 2017 that I finally went to Accra, Ghana in collaboration with filmmaker and artist Sam Kessie. I continued this project in 2018. Since then, am renting my own studio that I am sharing with one of my protagonists. Together with her and my driver Samuel Amposah Antwi, we are building a working trio.

The city not only proved to be enriching in terms of the exchange I had with the women, and allowed me to discover the topic from another cultural perspective, but also gave me an opportunity to discuss with locals about social rules and the position of the women in their society.

While sex work is legal in many European countries (e.g. Germany, Belgium, Holland, Greece) or illegal but regulated by the punishment of the clients (Sweden, France), it is illegal but very wide spread in Ghana. Trafficking and street work is present in many areas. Here, in one of the most religious countries of the world and inside of a patriarchal system, the women are part of a highly stigmatized peer group, they are dealing with prejudices and social exclusion, in addition to coping with the daily hardships of an impoverished existence.

Due to the illegality, there is almost no social support or shelter for sex workers, what often forces them to stay in highly criminal communities with landlords or “madams” who are keeping the control about inflated rents that have to be payed daily for a room or cabin that usually doesn’t even provide any sanitary facilities.

Alongside my own photography and multimedia works, this series includes collaborative artworks and the women’s personal possessions and drawings. Thus, a multitude of narrative expresses the sex worker’s own perspective on their lives, their feelings and their bodies, and that articulate their struggles and their hopes.

Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information!

Also read:

http://www.bjp-online.com/tag/ulla-deventer/

http://www.afriqueinvisu.org/butterflies-are-a-sign-of-a-good-thing.html