Inspired by her time in Lamu Island in 2023, Emma Prempeh’s portals transport us to “a dreamscape that intertwines memory and magic” at our first Rest Residency in Lamu, Kenya where we shared dreams together by the Indian Ocean.

The five-painting series featured at Bwo Gallery’s “Where Dreams are Born and Peace Restored” (2024) exhibition, curated by Brice Arsène Yonkeu, looks at how artists working today grapple with adversity, difference and change, at a point where humanity seems to be readjusting. Where does one’s mind go in such moments? Where does one hide to seek comfort and dream? These pivotal questions serve as the thematic foundation for an immersive exploration into the places, memories, fantasised worlds, or individuals that contribute to the artists’ identity formation and mental wellness.



“In No Man Is An Island Entire Of Itself, Prempeh depicts a communal moment with the ladies from Zami Collective, during which new sisterhood bonds were forged, and dreams were shared. The painting projects this memory cinematically, drawing viewers in with its scale and a tonal range that conveys the warmth and serenity of the scene. Across Prempeh’s five paintings, she not only romanticises a transformative experience but also the space that hosts it. The blank canvas turns into a terrain on which she magnifies interiors and their architectural features, and through a fantastical play with elements of darkness and light, she elevates mundane settings. The overall body of work invokes these memories, and events with an emphasis on selfhood, as towards the end of the retreat, Prempeh realised that she “only exists in places that allow [her] to dream up.”
— Bwo Gallery (2024)