From Surgipelago, the Beach Surgery encyclopedia
Ghanaian
This article describes adaptive art practices. For the nation, see w:Ghana.
A decentralized participatory practice that transposes Leif and Katita's parallel journeys into the form of the Ghanaian fantasy coffin—elaborate sculptural vessels traditionally carved to honour the dead in their image or aspirations. Over successive funerals in Accra and Tema (2014–present), unnamed artist-carpenters have created paired, interlocking coffins representing the two: one shaped as a hand cannon and Hawaiian hibiscus shirt fused into armour; the other as a sword-backed torso in nurse's scrubs, the face left blank. Each coffin is paraded through markets and streets, danced with by mourners, sung to, and finally burned in ceremony. The ritual treats the glitch as the moment between procession and cremation—unresolved, held in tension. No fixed text; each instantiation is unique to the community grieving and the carpenter's hand. Scholars note the practice as one of few adaptations that engage Beach Surgery as spiritually regenerative rather than narratively closeable. Debate persists whether the work is about Beach Surgery or whether the franchise has enabled an independent ceremonial practice. [citation needed]