In this episode, we invite globally acclaimed artist Zohra Opoku to share an exclusive insight into her new body of work, “Give Me Back My Black Dolls.” The captivating doll installation is currently on view at Kunsthal Mechelen in Belgium until March 2, 2025. It features 100 dolls dyed with Nigerian shoe ink and dressed in Ghanaian tie-dye attire.

Zohra reflects on her childhood as a Black girl growing up in East Germany, unpacking themes of identity, colour politics, and representation. She shares personal stories of repainting Caucasian dolls to resemble herself and revisits empowering yet complex childhood narratives that shaped her understanding of race and belonging. The title “Give Me Back My Black Dolls”, inspired by Léon-Gontran Damas, a foundational poet of the Négritude movement, delves into the absence of Black dolls in childhood spaces and the perception of beauty in early childhood development—both in her upbringing and in contemporary Ghana, West Africa.

Zohra also shares her passion for connection and her plans to invite African women artists to utilize her studio space in Ghana, in a residency program while she travels. This initiative reflects innovative ways to sustain and exchange resources within our creative communities.

About the Artist
Zohra Opoku examines the politics of personal identity formation through historical, cultural, and socio-economic influences, particularly in contemporary Ghana. Opoku’s explorations have been mostly through her camera lens; her photography is expressed through screen-printing and alternative photo processing on varieties of natural textile fabrics. Zohra Opoku was born in Altdöbern (former GDR/ East Germany), lives and works in Accra, Ghana and is represented by Mariane Ibrahim Gallery Chicago, Paris and Mexico City.