Born in 1919, La, Ghana
Died in 2012, Accra, Ghana
Ataa Oko was born in La, a town near Accra, Ghana. He made a living first as a fisherman, then as a worker on cocoa plantations. Beginning in 1936, he trained as a carpenter and created his first figurative coffins around 1945, eventually opening his own workshop in his hometown. In later years, he rarely made coffins, producing them only on special commission.
Oko began his graphic work at the age of eighty-three, after meeting ethnologist Regula Tschumi in 2002. Tschumi was conducting research on funerary sculptures and asked him to draw, from memory, the personalized figurative coffins he had crafted as a master carpenter—one shaped like a fish for a fisherman, another like a tomato for a farmer. Over time, Oko moved beyond these memories, creating an abundant array of new subjects in vivid colors: fantastical animals, imaginary beings, and sometimes monstrous figures.
In constant connection with the afterlife, Ataa Oko was visited by spirits, which he represented in his drawings. His work also drew inspiration from everyday life, providing material that fueled his imagination and creativity.
Ataa Oko collaborated with Regula Tschumi until his death in December 2012.
