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Alexander Nyankson

"I was born to a Ghanaian mother and father on January 25, 1979 in Ghana, where I had my basic education. I started drawing at the age of six and in by high school, I was adjudged the best student in art. Visual Arts was one of the subjects I sat for at the Advance Level in 1997. I specialized in painting on textiles.

"There was one lecturer by the name of Winfred Dzibordie, who was then into batik works. He used his expertise as a teacher to encourage me to perfect my skills in art. I undertook training in batik under him and that yielded positive results. I worked in his shop for about two years and that enabled me to set up on my own the following year.

"I mainly use cotton material for my works. The desired image is drawn on the fabric before the colors are applied. The process is to have the fabric dyed with one color after the other. Drying it in the hot sun is avoided since it may cause the wax to melt. Due to that it takes two or more days to design one batik, depending on the number of colors involved. Foam with a pointed edge is used for the wax method to bring out those intricate designs in the batiks. Presently, I have about five apprentices working with me.

"I portray everyday activities in my work as it spells out the true African cultures, and as such, my works are generally very colorful."