Photography by Carlos Idun-Tawiah. A young child in a red outfit with the number 1 sits on an adult’s shoulders, arms outstretched, holding the adult’s hands. The adult wears a yellow shirt and black shorts as they walk along a quiet street. Other people and a building are visible in the background.

Carlos Idun-Tawiah Open Studio

Artist-in-residence Carlos Idun-Tawiah hosts an Open Studio, presenting research and works in progress developed during his three-month residency at Studio Voltaire.

Idun-Tawiah’s work draws from both personal and collective archives, exploring the intersections of memory, imagination and lived experience. Working between fiction and non-fiction, past and present, his practice is intuitive and emotionally led, making photographs rooted in the intimacy of everyday life, family, friendship and the rhythms of youth. He is focused on extending these archives, exploring what is missing or fragmented and portraying contemporary African life with honesty, care and complexity.

During his residency, Idun-Tawiah is focusing on how images can move beyond traditional photographic paper and expand into installations, objects and three-dimensional space. For this Open Studio, the artist will experiment with embedding and translating images through wood and metal to see how these materials can carry the warmth of his subjects. He is also researching early photographic processes, such as daguerreotypes, examining how historical techniques, engraving and sculptural forms can change how we view and handle photography.

Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the artist and learn how this residency has contributed towards new ways of creating.

This residency is generously supported by Philanthropic Consortium, an initiative by Omenaa Mensah.

  1. Carlos Idun-Tawiah (b. 1997, Ghana) is a Ghanaian photographer and filmmaker based in Accra, Ghana. Idun-Tawiah has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions including Aperture, Art Basel, Miami, Florida (2023); Phillips Auction, ULTIMATE, London, United Kingdom (2023); Aperture, Paris Photo, Paris, France (2023); Aperture, Art Toronto, Toronto, Canada (2023); Aperture, The Armory Show, New York, United States (2023); Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, France (2023); Belfast Photo, Belfast, United Kingdom (2023); CONTACT Photo, Toronto, Canada (2023); Art Basel Miami, Miami, United States (2022); BBH Unsigned, London, United Kingdom (2021); East Photographic Gallery, London, United Kingdom (2021); and Arts Help 365, Tokyo, Toronto, and Lagos (2021).

  2. If you have any questions or need assistance with your visit, please feel welcome to contact us at +44 (0) 20 7622 1294 or access@studiovoltaire.org. Read Studio Voltaire's full access information here.

    1. Carlos Idun-Tawiah, What Are Brothers For, 2023. Archival pigment print mounted on aluminium Dibond. Image courtesy of Carlos Idun-Tawiah and Galeria Alta.
    2. Carlos Idun-Tawiah, The Barbershop, 2022. Archival pigment print mounted on aluminium Dibond. Image courtesy of Carlos Idun-Tawiah and Galeria Alta.
    3. Carlos Idun-Tawiah, Day One, 2024. Archival pigment print mounted on aluminium Dibond. Image courtesy of Carlos Idun-Tawiah and Galeria Alta.