Nana Kwadwo Tweneboa-Kodua, NK or ConceptbyNK, is an Afrocentric digital artist, designer and creative director based in Ghana. Nana mainly makes afro-futuristic art, using his creations to help Africans envision the exhilarating future meant for us as a people. While furthering the idea that the youth are destined to create this future, stating that his work serves as a blueprint to assist them in doing so.
Nana first ventured into creating in 2017; he would create 2D pieces using the PicsArt app on his phone. The beginning of a very extensive journey to who he is right now. Over the years, he has worked with various traditional media forms, selecting digital media as his main form of expression. A lot of his work involves 2D photo manipulations and 3d models. However, Nana’s work is often mistaken for paintings at first glance because of their impeccable intricacy. This makes sense since he utilizes myriads of digital painting techniques to achieve this seamless effect.
As a new-generation artist, a lot of Nana’s art is influenced by contemporary fashion trends and African youth culture. Specifically, he is very interested in the Alté subculture and streetwear fashion. His cultivated involvement and relationship with local Ghanaian fashion brands are a testament to his appreciation of youth culture. Simultaneously, this relationship allows him to bridge his audience to the alternative audiences. He wants to push the culture to new bounds while spreading a good narrative about the continent and Ghana through his work.
When questioned about his goals within the creative scene, the foundation of his answers lay in making change and pushing forth the youth. An activist in his own way. His understanding of popular culture at the moment is that Gen Z is at the forefront. Constantly being discussed and in the limelight. Therefore, he believes the responsibility lies on Gen Z, to creatively convey and highlight their perspectives. With access to the newest technological tools and the mass reach of social media, Nana believes that this unique approach makes the youth more empowered than previous generations. Giving them the power to leave their stamp on the world in a distinctive way
“Africa is the future; is the message I intend to pass in every piece I make. I’m a very young artist and I really resonate with this theme, the possibilities when creating around it are endless.”
From how Nana discusses creating and its potential, you can tell the reverence he views it with. It makes perfect sense that he describes creating as a way to express yourself, another way to think outside of the norm. A way to open the mind up to new prospects while using various forms and figures to produce a piece. Whether that outcome is digital, written, audio or video, Nana believes that part is up to you.
Furthermore, Nana’s favourite thing about creating is the control he has over it. The ability to create whatever he wants, however, he wants to. With most of his work produced within an Afro theme, it might seem surprising that he states that there are endless possibilities when he creates. This belief is reinforced by his ability to make new artwork almost every week using the same theme.
Moreover, his creations come about in a very peculiar way. His inspiration or starting point usually comes from his environment. As someone who spends plenty of time outside, sketchbook in hand, he observes his surroundings and makes rough sketches of anything that inspires him. Later, he builds on those sketches by scouring and gathering ideas from the internet. That is how his digital pieces come to fruition. The research functions as a foundation for his art and can often look vastly different from his outcome.
Although this process sounds very elaborate, Nana notes that it doesn’t ask him long to develop ideas and build on them. Once he begins a piece, he can be down with it within a day or two. While creating, he listens to music to help him stay focused. The purpose of the music is to connect him to his work, sometimes influencing the methods he uses to create. There is a strong will to keep working on the piece once he has begun, which usually drives him to complete it quickly. What usually takes a longer time is finding inspiration in the first place.
Inspiration is not always easy to discover, especially when it’s taken from his daily experiences and environment. When it comes to the people who inspire Nana, they are artists like himself whose art has grander purposes than just expression. Artists who stood for something bigger and expressed that through their creations. The likes of David Alabo, Beeple, Basquiat, and Tishk Barzanji. These are the artists Nana cites as being impactful to his creative journey and process.
Nana’s career is impressive, with many feats under his belt. He participated in a group exhibition in Rome at the Macerate Fine Arts Gallery, which also debuted at the Nairobi Design Week and again in the FLUID exhibition in Kenya. He also created art for a Netflix film, ‘Halima’s Choice,’ starring a Nigerian actor, Korede Azeez. He’s been featured on Google Arts and Culture. And he’s finally bridged that gap between fashion and his art, working with several brands such as Koffi Maako, Mizizi shop and Signed Lq.
