• DADA: Reinvention, Heritage and the Power of Upcycled Portraiture

    DADA: Reinvention, Heritage and the Power of Upcycled Portraiture

    Konboye transforms discarded flip flops into vivid portraits that bridge sustainability and memory. DADA reflects an African heritage reimagined through radical upcycling, where each stitched fragment becomes a renewed gesture of identity, resilience and colour. These works affirm a rising voice in contemporary African art, rooted in care, craft and reinvention.

     

    Reinventing what the world leaves behind, Konboye turns fragments of everyday life into portraits of identity, resilience and renewed meaning.

     
    Konboye’s DADA series positions transformation at the centre of artistic practice. The artist gathers hundreds of discarded flip flops, each marked by use and time, and brings them into a new visual language. What begins as waste becomes a living archive of African material culture, reinterpreted through meticulous cutting, stitching and layering. This process is both radical and intimate. The material is re-assembled into planes of colour, rhythm and texture, producing portraits that feel simultaneously grounded in tradition and fully contemporary. The act of recycling becomes both statement and method. Konboye elevates the forgotten into a space of visibility, presenting sustainability as a cultural gesture rather than a slogan. Through his hands, the flip flop is reinvented as pigment, anatomy and memory. Each shade, each incision, each seam carries a depth that recalls textile histories, communal practices and the intuitive science of colour found across the continent. DADA affirms the artist’s distinctive voice in today’s African art scene. The strength of his vision lies in the clarity of his method: the choice to work with reclaimed materials is not conceptual decoration, it is the structure of the work itself. These portraits hold a weight that comes from lived experience. They speak to resilience, reinvention and the capacity to rebuild meaning from what is overlooked. In these compositions, colour becomes architecture. The fragments create optical depth through subtle shadows, tactile edges and tonal interplay. The viewer is invited to read each portrait from within, following the rhythm of the stitched surfaces and the energy they release. The result is a body of work that stands at the intersection of memory, environmental responsibility and artistic excellence. DADA celebrates the power of upcycling as a generative force. It reflects an artist who honours the past while shaping a future grounded in care, resourcefulness and a vibrant sense of identity.
  • Portraits Reborn from the Rhythms of Everyday Materials
     

    Portraits Reborn from the Rhythms of Everyday Materials

    DADA1 reflects Konboye’s ability to elevate humble fragments into a vivid portrait full of presence and personality. Through a disciplined process of sorting, cutting and stitching, the artist creates a surface that feels woven, almost breathing. The chromatic balance evokes textile heritage and the emotional depth carried by lived materials. The work stands as a quiet affirmation that identity can be reconstructed, reclaimed and honoured through the smallest of remnants.
  • A Chromatic Map of Identity and Transformation In DADA2 the portrait emerges from a complex grid of colours and subtle...
    Nana Danso creating a large scale work during a public street performance.
    A Chromatic Map of Identity and Transformation
    In DADA2 the portrait emerges from a complex grid of colours and subtle reliefs. Konboye arranges each piece with sensitivity, letting tones shift between warmth and clarity. The material behaves like pigment, offering a richness that extends beyond surface. The work suggests a layered identity, shaped by movement, memory and reinvention. DADA2 highlights how sustainability can merge with artistic precision to form a new visual harmony
     
    Depth, Texture and the Intimacy of Reclaimed Surfaces
    DADA3 presents a portrait defined by subtle depth. The stitched layers create a play of light and shadow, giving the work a sculptural presence. Konboye captures the emotional resonance embedded in recycled materials, turning signs of use into signs of life. Each fragment contributes to a portrait that feels thoughtful, dignified and rooted in both past experience and future possibility.
     
    A Vibrant Expression of Renewal and Cultural Memory
    DADA4 embodies the balance between vibrancy and structure that defines Konboye’s practice. The composition radiates energy, with tones that echo community, warmth and heritage. The artist’s process of stitching gives the surface a tactile clarity, turning reclaimed fragments into a portrait with strong emotional resonance. It is a work that celebrates renewal while acknowledging the histories embedded in every piece.