Abstract:
The study was a studio-based research on Aluminium statues and the immortalisation of
Ghanaian sporting legends, that exhibits praxis and exegesis of Azumah Nelson’s statue.
It advances the immortalization of Ghana’s most outstanding sporting legend and
material sustainability which is rendered in scrap aluminium sculpture. It encourages the
Ghanaian sculptor to contribute positively to Ghana’s history by sculpting Ghana’s sports
legends in their daily practice. The study was premised on the fact that quite a number of
statues in Ghana are produced to honour the kings, politicians and individuals without
the consideration of sports icons who in their own way contributed largely to the
development of Ghana. Within the praxis, a sculptural artefact of a sporting icon, Azumah
Nelson was created using scrap aluminium. The research employed qualitative research
method to collect data and to analyse the data on how scrap aluminium could be used as
a material to cast a statue. Semi-Structured interviews and observation were used.
Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sporting legend for the study. The
clay model was built and the resulting mother mould was created using P.O.P and sand
combinations for the newly created wax sculpture. This was eventually de-waxed in a
kiln and the molten aluminium metal poured into it (mould) at the foundry to create
Azumah Nelson’s Statue. Though aluminium is scarcely used to sculpt, the finished work
proved the viability of modelling in sculpture with aluminium. The outcome of the study
indicated that there are quite a number of sportsmen and women who have contributed
immensely to the development of Ghana but have not been recognised officially in forms
of statue and therefore a lot must be done to correct or remedy the situation. It also shows
that the material, aluminium, is the cheapest among all the traditional materials; it is
sustainable and does not rust, and above all it has greater resistance to the external forces
of the weather as compared to concrete statues.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Music Education, School of Creative
Arts, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Arts and Culture)
in the University of Education, Winneba
September, 2018