Forging Africa’s future: Tom McCroire MacNaire’s wall sculpture at Adum

Boldly mounted on the red façade of the former Ghana Telecom building, now Telecel, at Adum, Kumasi, a commanding concrete relief sculpture speaks without words. Sculpted by Scottish artist and educator Tom McCroire MacNaire, the work is a fusion of symbolism and strength.

The figure is muscular, in motion. In one hand, he grips a lightning bolt, signifying energy, power, and innovation. In the other, a compass grips a globe etched with the map of Africa.

This deliberate composition elevates the piece beyond ornament. It becomes metaphor: Africa held in measured care, balanced between technological force and thoughtful development.

The compass, a tool of geometry and construction, evokes precision, structure, and the discipline of design. The lightning bolt pulses with raw energy. And Africa, central and unyielding, is both subject and charge.

Created during MacNaire’s tenure at the then Kumasi College of Technology (1948 to 1959), the sculpture broke from the British imposed ATD NDD tradition, which favored small medallion reliefs and marquette scale works. MacNaire introduced monumental, direct modeled concrete forms, integrating art into architecture and pedagogy.

His approach redefined sculptural language at the college, urging students in the Diploma in Fine Art (DFA) programme to challenge scale, medium, and colonial academic norms. Alongside David Dobson, MacNaire’s influence marked a curricular turning point, encouraging Ghanaian artists to claim space, symbolism, and cultural narrative.

Decades on, the sculpture remains more than a wall piece. It is a vision in concrete: Africa in strong, careful hands; power tempered by precision; and education as the sculptor of nations.

Adapted in part from J. C. Okyere’s “Bequest of Concrete Statuary in the KNUST Collection: Special Emphasis on Lonely Woman” (January 2015) Kąrî’Kạchä Seid’ou – Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.