Amartey Golding returns to Dubai for his third and most exciting exhibition bringing a bold and daring exploration of cultural identity and social conditioning with his exhibition called ‘Thorns have Roses’. In this celebration of cultural ubiquity, Golding explores how a mixed heritage can liberate the individual from cultural stereotypes and social pigeonholing.

Amartey, who predominantly lives in London, hails from a very diverse background consisting of English, Scottish, Ghanaian and Jamaican. 

Much of his younger years were spent searching for the right identity to fit into – doing that however, meant denying the other. He was forced to create his own identity thus embracing and accepting everything that made him who he is today.

The mixed media of charcoal and photographic transfers on canvas becomes a physical metaphor for the blending of cultures and helps bring into focus the material contrasts that exists so harmoniously.

Yet again, Amartey achieves an original and enthralling exhibition with a strong and personal concept with skilful and precise execution. It is this freedom of identity that gives this exhibition its sense of mobility and transcendence to go beyond the everyday clichés of our social being.

“Thorns Have Roses” will be showing at Showcase Gallery from 19^th April to 19^th May 2011