Social commentary became the base of Amfo’s work throughout the years ranging from societal beauty standards, identity politics, social inclusion and conformity, and topics on the self and the other. Amfo has expanded this into works that speak representations of misrepresentations, stereotypes and struggles of people of colour. Amfo’s decision to almost exclusively depict black characters, individuals of African heritage, reflects his desire, born of his own experiences, to bring to the fore the inadequate and troubling representations of black people in today’s media, as well as throughout history. In this way their blackness is both a reminder of his search for truth and a microcosm of how the societies in which we live construct the value systems that affect us all.

Criminalisation is the inability to separate a person from criminality based on their group identity. In this case, black male criminalisation is the inability to separate black males from criminals. Through photography, augmented reality, and 3D printed sculpture, the audience is invited to look deeper into our interpersonal experiences and the mental processes that inform them. Depicting black characters reflects the desire, born of my own experiences, to bring to the fore the inadequate and troubling representations of black people in today’s media and throughout history.

SILHOUETTE investigates and displays representations of misrepresentation of black men that has permeated our public consciousness. Decontextualising affirmations, illustrating what it is like to inhabit white-dominant spaces — nuanced statements about simply being.