Prince Gyasi Tells OkayAfrica About His Art and Practice
At an event celebrating the launch of Martell’s Afrobeats Limited Edition, OkayAfrica caught up with Prince Gyasi, the Ghanaian artist who designed the bottles in collaboration with Davido.
Nelson C.J.NelsonC.J.Lagos-Based West Africa Correspondent
“I had to bring in my Ghanaian vibe to it,” says Prince Gyasi on his Martell collaboration.Courtesy of Martell.
As an artist, Prince Gyasi has established an artistic language rich in colour, grounded in his Ghanaian heritage, and shaped by a strong perspective on contemporary African histories. So it made sense that when he was tapped as Martell’s latest Creative Partner, his first work was a film shot at the Château de Chanteloup, Martell’s historic estate in Cognac, which Gyasi has described as “a conversation between Accra and Cognac.”
“I had to bring in my Ghanaian vibe to it. I grew up looking at people pushing carts, selling scraps; people don’t actually see the value in that, but there’s so much value in it,” he tells OkayAfrica.
Gyasi’s next feat with the brand is a new XO bottle he designed in collaboration with Afrobeats icon Davido as part of the Afrobeats Limited Edition collection. Gyasi’s art on the bottle features a strong blend of deep blue and red colors and a dried paint motif. Gyasi says the bottle is inspired by waves of the seas in West Africa, the birthplace of Afrobeats, the colorful swirls of butterflies, and electrifying colors that capture the journey that Afrobeats has been on.
It’s a collaboration that expands Gyasi’s already impressive artistic portfolio having featured in Pharrell’s FEMMES exhibition and Apple's Chasing The Light series, amongst other landmark creative partnerships.
“We emphasize on things people overlook, things that keep you thinking. We should be the ones at the forefront.”Courtesy of Martell.
As an artist, Gyasi conceives his work, which spans photography, fashion and visual expressions, to highlight both problems and solutions, depending on what thematic questions he’s asking. “For a machine to work, you need the power of the negative and positive battery for it to work, and that is the technique I’ve always gone for and it’s been working ever since.”
Gyasi believes that artists play a vital role in shaping our perception of culture, but also how other arms of creativity are inspired. “We emphasize on things people overlook, things that keep you thinking. We should be the ones at the forefront.”
