Carlos Idun-Tawiah Ghanaian, b. 18/5/1997
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127 x 101.6 cm / 50 x 40 in
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Carlos Idun-Tawiah’s “Like Father, Like Son,” part of the Sunday Special series, frames the spirit of a Ghanaian Sunday in a sunlit courtyard in Accra. A barber, clad in an apron, bends with intent focus over a boy cloaked in black—the ritual of a fresh haircut rendered as an act of care and passage. Beside them, a woman adjusts a man’s collar, an intimate gesture carrying echoes of family, preparation, and pride. Each subject is caught within a haze of ordinary wonder, gestures blooming in the slow rhythms of Sunday.
Idun-Tawiah’s approach, infused with nostalgia and homage to family photo albums, distills universal truths from the particulars of place and memory. The photograph shimmers with details: shoes neatly pointed, sunlight warming terracotta walls, potted plants in quiet bloom. There is both gravity and ease in these exchanges—the innocence of the young boy awaiting transformation; the protective choreography connecting adults and children; the clothing and posture signaling aspiration and dignity.
Rooted in the artist’s study of his own family’s albums and Christian Ghanaian upbringing, the Sunday Special series channels the tenderness, structure, and togetherness that define communal rites. The everyday—haircuts, adjustments, clothing—becomes a thread linking generations. Idun-Tawiah weaves influences from African photographic traditions into a style both contemporary and timeless, allowing his subjects to inhabit their roles fully, encouraging the viewer to see beauty in the vernacular.
There is a poetic stillness where memory meets hope, where a haircut becomes more than grooming, and gentle touch affirms connection and belonging. Idun-Tawiah’s lens is gentle, honoring the complexity of feeling and the subtle choreography of care. With sincerity and grace, the image stands as an emblem of the profound found in the familiar—a visual hymn to family, community, and the enduring rituals of home in Accra.