Kehinde Wiley, the renowned African-American artist known for officially painting former US President Barack Obama in 2018, has recently unveiled a series of paintings featuring several sitting and former African heads of state.

Notably, one of his subjects was Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of Ghana at the time.

In President Akufo-Addo's portrait, he is depicted wearing colorful kente cloth, seated on a chair adorned with the national coat of arms. His posture is contemplative, with his right hand resting on his knee and his left hand grasping a gold-plated walking stick.

Among the other African presidents included in this collection are Ethiopia's President Sahle-Work Zewde, Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, Macky Sall of Senegal, and Faure Gnassingbe of Togo. Former presidents featured in the paintings include Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo and Alpha Conde of Guinea.

This remarkable exhibition, titled "A Maze of Power," is currently on display at the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris, France, and is set to run until January 2024.

The artist spent a decade working on these portraits, during which he traveled extensively throughout Africa, engaging with various leaders.

These interactions and discussions focused on themes such as the history of aristocratic, royal, and military portraiture in 17th to 19th Century Europe.

Wiley used these conversations to inform his artwork, creating compositions that capture each leader's unique perspective on contemporary African leadership.

“This is a look at the presidency itself. This is an invitation for the viewer to expand the possibilities of what it means to look at art in Africa, about Africa, and about power.”