Paa Joe is a palanquin and fantasy coffin artist born in 1947, Accra. Paa Joe is considered one of the most important Ghanaian coffin artist of his generation. Paa Joe began his career with a twelve-year apprenticeship as a coffin artist in the workshop of Kane Kwei, Ghana’s first fantasy coffin maker. In 1976, Paa Joe started his own business in and trained many young artists like Daniel Mensah (Hello), Eric Kpakpo or Kudjoe Affutu who have also become successful fantasy coffin artists, with exhibitions as venues such as the Centre Pompidou. Since 1989, he has been involved in major art exhibitions in Europe, Japan and the USA; his fantasy coffins are in the collections of many art museums worldwide, including the British Museum in London; and he has had several books written and films made about his work.
