Bristol Photo Festival: Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah – The House is a Body

Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah will be in residence in Bristol’s Georgian House Museum, creating a new body of work in relation to the building’s colonial history.

Built in the late 18th century, Georgian House is best known as the home of John Pinney (1740 – 1818), a wealthy sugar merchant and slave holder; yet was also home to Pero Jones (1753-1793) and Fanny Coker (1767-1820), both of whom were born into slavery and brought to Bristol by the Pinney family. Adu-Sanyah’s commission will respond to these histories. This exhibition was co-curated by Catherine Littlejohns, Senior Curator of Historic Houses at Bristol Museums, and Alejandro Acin of Bristol Photo Festival.

About Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah

Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah is a German-Ghanaian artist and photographer based in Zurich, Switzerland. Her work centres upon the colour darkroom, where she uses the materials of photography, paper, light and time, to investigate familial bonds, personal loss, identity and structures of institutional power. The work created emphasises the process of its making; particularly the journey from initial ideas and research research to the creation of a photographic object that is imbued with feeling and emotion.

She has held exhibitions across Europe, including: Centre Photographie Geneve (CH), Photoforum Pasquart (CH), Saarland Museum (DE) & Foam Museum (NL). Her work is held in the permanent collections of both the city and canton of Zurich, the Swiss Photography Foundation (Fotostiftung Schweiz), Fotomuseum Winterthur and the city of Saarbrucken. In 2024, she was the recipient of the Swiss Art Award. She is the author of one monograph, Rough Tide (edition fink, 2024).

With thanks

This exhibition was produced with funding from Pro Helvetia and Arts Council England, in partnership with Shadow Labs and Bristol Photo Festival, and with the support of Spike Island – many thanks to them all.