“In the Shadow of Fresh Palms in Flower” recalls the title of the second volume of Marcel Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time”, the time of the promise suspended between the past and the future.

A form of animism, as investigated by Achille Mbembe in “Brutalism”, unites different forces and forms of knowledge. Palm fronds intertwined with the wisdom of those who make ecological and efficient brooms – in this case, Emelia Tawiah, a friend met at the Campus – are activated by a second-hand engine and other mechanical parts purchased at Asafo Market in Kumasi, thanks to the collaboration of Cyril Adaia, Head of the KUNST Metal Department. The device is activated by the sun, which provides the energy to create a refreshing breeze. The metal structure echoes those in the city that protect the portion of the air conditioners placed outside the buildings from theft: a change of sign is introduced in a recurring object.

In the background, set up is the wax fabric called ‘Kofi Annan’s Brains’, made in 2006 to commemorate his final speech as United Nations Secretary-General. The fabric found in Adum, a commercial area in Kumasi, represents a brain formed by the meeting of three trees, a metamorphic figure that alludes to an extended intelligence that transcends the strictly human dimension.