“How’s Your Day Going” by Joseph Awuah-Darko

“How’s Your Day Going?”.Joseph Awuah-Darko transformed a spreadsheet tracking his bipolar disorder into a series of abstract oil paintings, using colors to represent his emotional states. Ends Oct 24, Visit: https://www.edcrossfineart.com/exhibitions/70/overview/

While struggling with a spreadsheet for his art supplies budget, Ghanaian artist Joseph Awuah-Darko had an idea. Instead of numbers, he decided to track his bipolar disorder with colors. As a visual learner, he realized he could express his emotions through color in ways words couldn’t. He began assigning a different color to each hour based on how he felt, from red for deep depression to pastel blue for positivity. This process quickly became both addictive and therapeutic for him.

From these digital records, Awuah-Darko created a series of abstract oil paintings, now featured in his first UK solo exhibition, How’s Your Day Going? The exhibition brings his emotional journey with bipolar disorder to life. Some of his pieces mirror the neatness of his original spreadsheet, while others are more chaotic. He uses oil sticks to apply colors in stripes, blending them while still wet to reflect the messiness and fluidity of emotions.

Awuah-Darko’s color choices also change depending on his environment. For instance, teal, a deep blue-green, represents his complex feelings about Brussels, where he now lives after leaving Ghana to live openly as a gay man. His work draws inspiration from artists like Josef Albers and Atta Kwami, as well as his own heritage. His abstract paintings, reminiscent of kente cloth, evoke the meditative weaving process he learned as a child. How’s Your Day Going? runs at Ed Cross Fine Art in London until 24 October 2024.