AIRPLANES ON THE GROUND Artwork

Through his towering painted canvases, TAKI reflects his childhood experience during the Liberian Civil War to reveal the complexities of war, power, femininity, and identity. Currently based in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, TAKI came to the United States from Liberia, Africa at the age of ten. He lived through four years of war under the protection of local village women. These women shaped TAKI’s understanding of color and form, encouraging him to process the brutality of war by creating beauty from wreckage. In 1994, TAKI was reunited with his parents and siblings and has continued to use his art to contemplate notions of identity, belonging, and rebirth. Today TAKI's art can be found in many private collections throughout the world including New York, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Saint Augustine Beach, Florida, Culebra, Puerto Rico, Atlanta, Georgia, Austin, Texas, Cleveland, Ohio, London, and Greece.