LOST IN TRANSLATION

For many immigrants and children of immigrants, translation extends far beyond language. It unfolds through our names, traditions, memories, and the countless ways we learn to navigate different worlds. As we move between cultures, we are continually translating not only what we say, but who we are.

Lost in Translation reflects my experience as a Ghanaian raised in America, exploring the evolving nature of identity shaped by migration, memory, and belonging. Through portraiture, textiles, Adinkra symbolism, and sculptural relief, these paintings create a visual language that exists between cultures—where inherited traditions meet lived experience, and where identity is continually negotiated rather than divided.

Recurring motifs of eyes, mouths, masks, and Ankara fabric weave throughout the exhibition, serving as symbols of transformation, memory, and cultural continuity. Rather than offering fixed meanings, these forms invite viewers to reflect on the ways identity is shaped by ancestry, community, environment, and the experiences that define us over time.

Rather than asking what is lost through migration, this exhibition asks a different question:

What remains after translation?

The answer lies not in choosing one identity over another, but in embracing the space where cultures overlap and new identities emerge. Home is not always a place; sometimes it is the self we continue becoming. Identity is not something we find—it is something we continually translate.