Joshua

In this moving and memorable episode of Two Worlds, One Me, I sit down with British-Ghanaian artist Joshua Donkor, whose award-winning portraits explore diasporic identity, ancestral memory and the stories that shape who we are.

Joshua's work is deeply personal, filled with image transfers, textures and fragments of family photographs, but it speaks to all of us who have ever wondered where we belong. We talk about growing up mixed-race in the UK, about finally visiting Ghana and meeting his grandmother, and dancing together when words weren’t possible. We also explore his time living in Italy, how that experience helped him grow, and how painting became a way to both discover and document his identity.

We reflect on the joy of family, the power of archiving our stories, and why memory, like colour and scent, can carry so much meaning.

This episode is for anyone who has lived between cultures, carries more than one soul within them, or simply wants to understand the beauty and complexity of identity through the eyes of an artist.

Featuring:

• The story behind Joshua’s most powerful paintings
• His English mother’s letters from Ghana
• What “home” means when you belong to more than one place
• The smell of groundnut soup and the colour of belonging
• And why dancing can sometimes say more than words ever could

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Joshua’s exhibition title was inspired by the poet Fernando Pessoa: "I have more souls than one..."  By the end of this episode, you might find yourself feeling the same.

Music featured in this episode - Kofi Sammy - Akoko Batan (Ghana highlife), Joshua's uncle

Joshua's website - https://www.joshuadonkorart.co.uk/

Groundnut soup receipe - https://www.seriouseats.com/ghana-west-african-peanut-stew-chicken-groundnut-soup

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Got a story to share? Write to me: hello@twoworlds.oneme.cafe

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Thanks for listening!


Music thanks to John Bartmann