Ibrahim Mahama at the Barbican

The Barbican has announced a major new commission from Ibrahim Mahama, set to open in April 2024. The site-specific work, titled Purple Hibiscus, will sit in the Barbican’s famous Lakeside Terrace, with approximately 2,000 square metres of bespoke woven cloth enveloping the brutalist complex’s concrete exterior.

Taking its name from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 2003 novel, Purple Hibiscus marks Mahama’s first large-scale public commission presented in the UK. The work has been woven, sewn and embroidered in collaboration with hundreds of craftspeople from Tamale, Ghana.

Shanay Jhaveri, Head of Visual Arts at the Barbican, has said of the commission: ‘At a time of increasing fracture and disharmony, Mahama, with this monumental site-specific artwork – the second in our newly launched commission series – will transform the Barbican’s iconic Lakeside into a site and space for the commemoration of community, intergenerational memory and solidarity, all achieved by the incredible capabilities and capacity of the human hand.’

This commission was made possible by Tia Collection.