Witches In Exile is a long-term project.
In August 2021, a monograph will be published that will present a comprehensive selection of the portrait series in an overall view for the first time.
The portraits were taken in 2009 and 2013 in northern Ghana in Gambaga and Gushiegu, in so-called witch villages.
The portraits of women stigmatized as witches in Ghana are works of art that get under the skin. They have the power to attract our attention and thereby draw attention to a grievance.
The accusation of being a witch means a hard lot for thousands of women in West Africa - often it is a death sentence. In West Africa - as in several other parts of the world (e.g. India, Papua New Guinea, Guatemala) - alleged witches are brutally persecuted still today. In addition to the belief in witches and fear, envy and jealousy are often the triggers of a witch hunt, which is often fatal. The women are branded guiltless and have to fear for their lives. No one knows how many women are poisoned, strangled, drowned or burned. Women who escape the attacks can find refuge in the witch villages. There are a total of seven such villages in Ghana. These help the women to survive, but their real life, their family, their children are denied them - there remains the stigma of being a witch and a hard struggle for survival on the fringes of society.
Witches In Exile wants to draw attention to this problem and support the commitment against the belief in witches on the ground.
5% from the book proceeds and 10% from the proceeds of the art edition and the artwork will support the Ghanaian aid project Witch-hunt Victims Empowerment Project (WHVEP), which creates and educates such places of refuge. We gratefully arrange donations (donation receipt).
In August 2021, a monograph will be published that will present a comprehensive selection of the portrait series in an overall view for the first time.
The portraits were taken in 2009 and 2013 in northern Ghana in Gambaga and Gushiegu, in so-called witch villages.
The portraits of women stigmatized as witches in Ghana are works of art that get under the skin. They have the power to attract our attention and thereby draw attention to a grievance.
The accusation of being a witch means a hard lot for thousands of women in West Africa - often it is a death sentence. In West Africa - as in several other parts of the world (e.g. India, Papua New Guinea, Guatemala) - alleged witches are brutally persecuted still today. In addition to the belief in witches and fear, envy and jealousy are often the triggers of a witch hunt, which is often fatal. The women are branded guiltless and have to fear for their lives. No one knows how many women are poisoned, strangled, drowned or burned. Women who escape the attacks can find refuge in the witch villages. There are a total of seven such villages in Ghana. These help the women to survive, but their real life, their family, their children are denied them - there remains the stigma of being a witch and a hard struggle for survival on the fringes of society.
Witches In Exile wants to draw attention to this problem and support the commitment against the belief in witches on the ground.
5% from the book proceeds and 10% from the proceeds of the art edition and the artwork will support the Ghanaian aid project Witch-hunt Victims Empowerment Project (WHVEP), which creates and educates such places of refuge. We gratefully arrange donations (donation receipt).
