'Water Carriers'

Silhouetted in the late afternoon sun, women return to the village balancing water jars on their heads. Emmanuel Atiemoh Yeboah deftly evokes their weariness as they carry the heavy jars, yet captures their beauty and slender grace in colorful batik cloth. A common sight throughout West Africa, women seek far and wide to obtain a clean source of the vital, life-sustaining liquid. "First and foremost, I assemble my working tools, after which I sketch images on the calico cloth, " Yeboah explains. "With the sketches done, I sprinkle red and green oil paints on the calico cloth to give it a simple colorful background. I then cut out particular places I intend to replace with batik or kente cloth, which are later glued together. Afterwards, I dry and frame my collage work." This brilliant mixed media on calico comes in a red wood frame.