Akuaba Doll

Ghanaian artist Nii Teiko Aryeetey paints an akuaba, an Ashanti fertility doll, in his own unique artistic style. He refers to his style of painting as 'Linenism'; the idea came to him from watching streaks of rain water as they were blown into slanted lines by the wind. The colorful composition captures the traditional Ashanti style, in which the fertility dolls have large, disc-shaped heads. Traditionally, such dolls are carried on the backs of women hoping to conceive a child.