KWAME AKOTO “ALMIGHTY GOD ART WORKS”, born in 1950
Mockers dont know their end
OSEREFO. NINN N’AWIEE
Mockers don’t know their end
Circa 1995.
Glycerophthalic paint on plywood panel and wooden framing strips, 117.5 x 122 cm.
Signed Almighty God Art Works Suame Jun. KSI (Kumasi) – Ghana on the front.
Bibliography: Kwame Akoto, Almighty God Art Works. Exhibition catalogue Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. Fondation Antoine de Galbert. Empire books, 2026. To be compared with the work reproduced on page 67 “My friend the bushman ” c. 1995.

This powerful work, with its composite style blending a “naïve” treatment of the background and realism in the heads, perfectly illustrates the role of proverbs in Ashanti society, acting as a means of social regulation.
This maxim, inscribed on the frame in English and in the Akan language spoken by the Ashanti people, supported by the representation of two opposing Siamese heads—one smiling, the other weeping—signifies the duality of human attitudes and the possible reversal of destiny. In the Ashanti world, proverbs are omnipresent, whether used by court orators, depicted on “talking sticks,” or other ritual objects. Proverbs are used to subtly contradict without causing the interlocutor to lose face, to warn without accusing, or more generally, to demonstrate wisdom. “He who laughs last, laughs best” is its French equivalent.