VISUAL ART: Deadly Prey RETURNS! Gallery Pop-Up, round 2

Deadly Prey is back in Baltimore after last year’s monstrously popular pop-up! If you don’t have 3-33 Deadly Prey posters hanging in your row home, ask yourself: Are you really living (in Baltimore)? In case you’re new, these are gorgeous and unique interpretations of movies you know and love, painted by Ghanaian artists who get 100% of the proceeds in the 1980s “Ghanaian Mobile Cinema” tradition.

Sale/Bar from 6 - 10pm

Deadly Prey Gallery

@deadlypreygallery

[READ on The Guardian]

Deadly Prey Gallery is a Chicago-based traveling art gallery working with 10 artists in and around Accra, Ghana. Founded by Robert Kofi Ghartey and Brian Chankin in 2012, we are dedicated to the preservation of hand-painted Ghanian movie posters, with the central focus being supporting the incredible artists currently painting them today. 

“We house and archive a unique collection of thousands of these posters spanning their 30+ year tradition. Commission opportunities, original paintings, prints, books, tees and more are available, with 100% of merch profits going to the artists.

These wild posters were once the product of a much larger industry known as the “Ghanaian Mobile Cinema”. This business started in the mid 1980’s when Ghanaian entrepreneurs formed video clubs. With a television, vcr, vhs tapes, and a portable generator they’d travel throughout Ghana setting up make-shift screening areas in villages with little or no electricity. These video clubs also had more permanent theaters in the cities like Accra, Cape Coast and Kumasi.

An interesting selection of movies became popular mainly due to availability. These genres include Hollywood action and horror, low budget American straight to video features, Bollywood films, Hong Kong martial arts movies, and of course an ever-growing selection of native Ghanaian and Nigerian features.

As more people gained interest in this rising business, competition arose. Mobile cinema operators found a need to set their products apart, so an advertising motif came into play. With no affordable access to printing, the hand-painted movie poster was the most logical advertising vehicle. Skilled local artists were now part of this growing entertainment industry in Ghana, and they surely brought their own distinct touch to each film they were called upon to promote. It was very common for the video operator to explain to the artists what to paint or give them reference material which might not exactly be central to the plot of the movie. The artists were encouraged to watch each film prior to painting, but were told to focus on aspects outside the traditional printed posters. Oftentimes extra violence, horror or sex was added to these painted posters in an effort to set the film apart from the competition, thereby selling more tickets for the video club! 

By sewing together used flour sacks, a perfect sized alternative canvas for an over-sized movie poster was created. The ruggedness of these posters is immediately noticed. Though a specific poster might only be 15-20 years old, its appearance will far surpass its actual age due to the elemental toll one takes from constant transit, being rolled, folded, left in the sun, rain, etc. Most posters measured roughly 40x60 inches, though 30x40 inch posters and many sizes in between were also common.

Today, access to printing is far less expensive and home viewing has become more accessible to the general public in Ghana. By the mid to late 2000’s the mobile cinema had all but passed away, but these hand-painted movie posters remain a wonderful, tangible product of the time. 

Many of the same artists from Ghana’s former mobile cinema continue to paint movie posters as art instead of advertising with Deadly Prey Gallery on a commission basis to a growing worldwide audience today. This is the current stage in the larger history of these unique hand-painted posters, with Robert Kofi and Brian serving as the modern day equivalent of the video club operator.

The artists who work with Deadly Prey are Heavy J, Stoger, Farkira, Mr. Nana Agyq, Salvation, C.A. Wisely, Magasco, Bright Obeng, Nil Bi Ashitey, and H.K. Mathias. The legendary artists Mark Anthony and Leonardo (noted as one of the first 3 artists in the genre who started in 1985) worked with us as well since the beginning, but sadly both have passed in the last couple years. We continue making these posters to honor them and broaden the legacy!