King David Osabutey
King David Osabutey, also known as Kakalicka, is a contemporary artist working between Accra and Kumasi. A 2023 graduate of KNUST and a member of the blaxTARLINES collective, Osabutey’s practice interrogates cultural hybridity and the lingering effects of colonialism on Ghanaian traditions.
Through an interdisciplinary approach spanning painting, sculpture, installation, and performance, he engages with the ways colonial Christianity and capitalism have fused with indigenous Ghanaian customs. Using materials such as bleach and washing blue, he creates layered works that mimic the process of cultural erasure, distortion, and re-emergence—revealing the ways imposed ideologies have shaped local identities.
Osabutey’s work is deeply rooted in the everyday, drawing from Adinkra symbols, Christian iconography in public spaces, and oral traditions to examine the power dynamics embedded in belief systems. His process challenges audiences to reconsider the narratives that shape contemporary Ghanaian life.
At WOORI 2025, Osabutey brings this critical lens to the festival, presenting work that blurs the lines between past and present, material and immaterial. His exploration of spirituality, history, and artistic agency invites an open-ended dialogue on cultural adaptation and resistance.
Through an interdisciplinary approach spanning painting, sculpture, installation, and performance, he engages with the ways colonial Christianity and capitalism have fused with indigenous Ghanaian customs. Using materials such as bleach and washing blue, he creates layered works that mimic the process of cultural erasure, distortion, and re-emergence—revealing the ways imposed ideologies have shaped local identities.
Osabutey’s work is deeply rooted in the everyday, drawing from Adinkra symbols, Christian iconography in public spaces, and oral traditions to examine the power dynamics embedded in belief systems. His process challenges audiences to reconsider the narratives that shape contemporary Ghanaian life.
At WOORI 2025, Osabutey brings this critical lens to the festival, presenting work that blurs the lines between past and present, material and immaterial. His exploration of spirituality, history, and artistic agency invites an open-ended dialogue on cultural adaptation and resistance.
Painting
Sculpture
Installation
Performance
Sculpture
Installation
Performance
