Sankofa: A virtual Exploration of the Besease Shrine

Abstract

As a teenager growing up in Ghana, whenever I traveled to my hometown, I saw old, abandoned traditional buildings made of earth and timber frames. I have always wanted to know why old traditional buildings look so unique and different from our present-day buildings. They usually appear to be weak as rain erodes some portions of them. While most have been abandoned, some have been preserved to serve their purpose. This ignited my curiosity as an artist to use visual forms to learn more about these buildings. In this project, I use virtual reality to explore the purpose and importance of these buildings in their prime. The Besease Shrine, located in Ejisu Besease, which has been serving as a spiritual ground since the 19th century, is being used as a case study and reimagined in a virtual space to learn about the architectural forms and motifs of these buildings. Virtual reality is an artistic medium that can visualize historic sites and places remotely to give a firsthand perspective and appreciation. The paper further discusses how virtual reality can be used to preserve and document these historical places.