“One of the most important things to me right now is just working with great people who are kind and nice, and want to create beautiful
“It’s family. It’s Ghanaian. I love it.” Aboah beams, “What makes it even better was just the fact that it was James, and it was the recreation of such an iconic photo that he shot such a long time ago, and with him being Ghanaian, and this being so important to him, and him being honoured with a retrospective at The Serpentine… for me that kind of collaboration is always the best. It feels so meaningful because it feels like you are a part of something that is not only important to you, but important to so many other people in a bigger form and way.”
Almost six years since Tim Walker shot Aboah for the cover Vogue Italia, a lot has happened. The model-turned-activist’s platform, Gurls Talk, has taken Aboah from London to Accra and beyond, speaking to and empowering women through the prisms of race, identity and mental health (earning the platform almost half a million followers on Instagram alone). She also landed a role in the Hollywood adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, starring alongside Scarlett Johansson. “I love acting, that’s another aspiration of mine”.
Today, Aboah is simply in pursuit of a life led by meaning: both creatively and philosophically. One of the looks in the accompanying shoot was designed and styled by LVMH prize finalist Kenneth Ize, someone who Aboah considers to be a close working friend.
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Main image: this James Barnor photograph, taken in Piccadilly Circus, London, is a tribute to an identical 1967 shot by the photographer. Model Adwoa Aboah @ Dna. Coat, top and pants, Kenneth Ize Fall 2021. Kitten heels, Manolo Blahnik. Murano glass earring, Nita. Sittings editor Flora Huddart. Hair Jaz Lanyero. Make-up Celia Burton @ Jaq Management. Photo assistant Giulia Sartorelli. Digital tech Alys Morrison. On set Jackson Forsythe. Special thanks to: Hans Ulrich Obrist, Lizzie Carey-Thomas, Josef O’Connor.