Ghanaian artist Timothy K. Gobah showcased in new African contemporary art catalogue

Ghanaian contemporary artist Timothy K. Gobah has been featured in the Official Catalogue of Contemporary African Art, unveiled in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The publication includes Gobah’s 2026 work Highlife, a 133 by 98-centimetre acrylic and spray painting on canvas depicting Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

The piece examines Pan-Africanism, historical memory and political identity, using the image of Dr Nkrumah to explore how power and political figures are represented.

According to the catalogue, the title Highlife refers to the West African musical genre that developed through the interaction of African rhythmic traditions and Western musical culture. The work is based on a historical photograph of Dr Nkrumah at a birthday celebration.

However, the catalogue says Gobah’s painting extends beyond a depiction of status or prosperity. Instead, it considers the ways political imagery is created, remembered and interpreted over time.

“ Nkrumah’s image here is connected not only to the political history of Ghana, but also to the broader experience of African self-determination, in which the idea of unity emerges as a project of shared memory, shared destiny and a common future,” the catalogue states.

The inclusion of Highlife places Gobah’s work within a wider collection of contemporary African art focused on the continent’s varied histories, cultures and changing identities.

The catalogue describes Gobah as an artist whose practice explores memory, identity and the perception of reality in contemporary society. His work, it says, connects personal experiences with wider cultural and social processes.

A key part of his artistic practice is the relationship between art and truth. The publication says Gobah’s work investigates how meanings are formed, altered and understood.

His visual style is built around a restrained palette dominated by black, white and gold. The catalogue identifies the contrast between those colours as an important part of his approach.

That contrast reflects Gobah’s interest in the uncertain space between fact and interpretation, and between authenticity and fiction. In Highlife, the carefully selected colours and historical subject combine to question how images of political authority acquire meaning.

The work’s focus on Dr Nkrumah also places Ghana’s political history within a broader African context. As described in the catalogue, the painting links the former president’s public image to wider ideas of African self-determination, unity and a shared future.

The Official Catalogue of Contemporary African Art brings together work by artists from across Africa. It presents contemporary artistic expression shaped by the continent’s diverse experiences, while highlighting the different ways artists engage with questions of history, identity and culture.

Gobah’s appearance in the publication gives Highlife a place within that continental conversation, alongside works that reflect Africa’s evolving artistic and social identities.