It was serendipity. 

Just as João Miguel’s Wisdom series evolved through a fortuitous encounter while researching a separate project, I first came across the photographer’s works purely by chance – it was his solo exhibition ‘Photo-Scripts – 14 short stories’ at Museu Coleção Berardo in 2018. I was immediately struck by the empathy and humanity emanating from the black & white photographs. Each work captured a fleeting moment in time, while simultaneously managing to tell a full story – the split second when one boxer lands a punch; the ebb and flow of tides in Sintra; or faces of passers-by who may never be seen again.

A dominating feature in João Miguel’s photography is his aesthetic and technical precision – his use of chiaroscuro to direct the viewer’s gaze, bringing the smallest detail into focus and in turn, magnify the essence of his subjects. 

João Miguel’s Ghana Stories is an inspired body of work that can be seen as a visual social commentary. These intimate photographs invite us into a world that is completely foreign, but despite the apparent chaos and impoverished conditions, there is light and hope.  

Ghana Stories Part I comprises five series of photographs – Wisdom, Jamestown, Courtyard, Akuapem, and Blood, Sweat & Tears. 

– Helen Ho, curator

Wisdom

To enter Wisdom School is to enter a different world.

The old building, which was once an important mansion, is now quite damaged.

The school was founded in 1986. At the beginning it was intended to accommodate children with soccer skills. However, in 1992, the school was authorized to establish an educational program, with the mandate to teach classes ranging from pre-primary to secondary education.

In this project, which is the result of several visits and interaction with teachers and students, we can find a little bit of everything: children playing, individualized tutors and tumultuous classes.

“ These intimate photographs invite us into a world that is completely foreign, but despite the apparent chaos and impoverished conditions, there is light and hope.”

Jamestown 

Jamestown was founded in the 17th century and is one of the oldest districts of the city of Accra, Ghana.

In this immense space bordering the sea, a vast community of fishermen live and work, fishing being their main source of survival.

The place, built from a cluster of hundreds of informal slum-like homes, is another microcosm of life where one is only able to enter with the right people. Jamestown is in the process of being reconverted, and local authorities have begun to move housing to other places, generating some tension and dissatisfaction.

The selected images focus on the activity of these fishermen during the low season, an important pause in time to take care of the necessary tools for work.

Courtyard 

The Wisdom Preparatory Academy is located in Adedenkpo, in the old city of Accra, Ghana. The contiguous courtyard, surrounded by houses and informal dwellings, is the place where some families live and raise their young children.

At the end of every day during the week, the courtyard is used as a training area by a group of young boxers under the supervision of Ghana’s national boxing coach.

The images shown here reveal a rich microcosm where we can see the children’s games, regular spectators and committed boxers who aspire to recognition and celebrity.

Akuapem 

Akuapem is a special place located in southern Ghana. Every September, the traditional Odwira Festival is celebrated there, integrating multiple cultural, religious, traditional and sports activities. Among them, we may find boxing.

This series brings together two sets of images of various fights and moments occurring in said festival, in a crowded public square.

The first consists of images that have been transformed into an abstract narrative, depicting the movements and dynamics of the fighting. The second set illustrates some details of the people that stand around the arena, namely the fighters and the judges, as well as of those who watched and vibrated with the successive fights throughout the night.

A special thank you goes to Alex Ntiamoah-Boakye, who organized the boxing event of Akuapem, for fully supporting Joao in photographing this project.

Blood, Sweat & Tears

On 28 October 2017, Ghanaian boxer Emmanuel Omari Danso fought Chinese boxer Fanlong Meng for the International Boxing Federation Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Championship title in Macau, People’s Republic of China.

After 10 rounds, the Chinese boxer was awarded the title by the judges’ unanimous decision.

Danso lives in Accra, home to many famous boxers in Ghana. “Men like to fight,” a veteran told João.

“It’s here where they come, because it’s here where they find the best”. Like all the young boxers around him, he still continues to drill with humility and rigor every day of the week, twice a day. You can see his focused gaze, the hard work and care he puts into practice. He dedicates himself to each session as if each moment was part of the combat of a title; a way to gain glory.

Fate determined that Emmanuel Danso would dispute in Macau the IBF Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Championship title. It was this fate that put him at the center of this narrative.

Blood, Sweat & Tears consists of more than a hundred images, which are brought together to form a coherent unit. The first is composed of combat depictions. The second group consists of Emmanuel Danso’s drills, his dream companions and the places where they happen. And it is also, in flashback, the recording of this singular combat that happened in Macau, which continues to beleaguer the thoughts and emotions of the young Ghanaian boxer.