Kenneth Aidoo

Kenneth Aidoo (°1988, Amsterdam)

Kenneth Aidoo graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2019 with a series of works made from oil pastel on paper. In recent years, he has continued this work, creating mostly portraits exploring his heritage. Looking at Kenneth Aidoo's work, different narratives emerge about the positioning of black people. His work deals with how this position arose and how it is developing in today's society, towards both men and women. He explores this topic through film, paintings, drawings and also video installations. He travelled to Suriname to examine the triangular relationship between Ghana, the Netherlands and Suriname, which he has incorporated into a video installation and photographs. Aidoo originally started his art education with moving images, but after a while he became more interested in painting and drawing. For his graduation project, he researched his background and life experiences in the Netherlands and created an oil pastel portrait series around them. In recent years, he has continued to do this and mainly creates portraits that explore his origins. He also makes portraits of, among others, the Afro American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. But also of black people who might become kings, or an ode to a black soldier who fought in the Second World War. It is especially his pride in his origins and history that manifests itself in Aidoo's works.