Various Locations
A geographic record of vulcaniser shops across West Africa — currently documenting locations within Ghana and Burkina Faso. Plotted from GPS coordinates gathered in the field, the Atlas maps the spatial distribution of roadside repair across urban, peri-urban, and regional landscapes, revealing the density, clustering, and mobility of an economy that keeps cities moving. The Atlas is a living document, updated as fieldwork continues.
Disclaimer
The Vulcaniser Atlas and Afrobutylism Studio operate strictly as a research and documentation initiative. We maintain no official or legal affiliation with the independent vulcanisers, tradespeople, or site operators featured on this platform. The geographic data and location markers are provided for informational and archival purposes only. Visitors who choose to travel to or engage with any listed location do so entirely at their own discretion and risk. Afrobutylism Studio assumes no liability for personal safety, property, or any transaction occurring at these sites.
Many vulcanisers are migratory — their shops move, close seasonally, or relocate without notice. We update the atlas as shops relocate and as we are alerted, through ongoing fieldwork and community reports. We recommend confirming availability before travelling to any listed site.
Various Locations
Artworks placed within vulcaniser shops as temporary and permanent interventions. Materials sourced from repair spaces are returned — transformed — to their points of origin, situating sculpture within the everyday environments of roadside tyre repair. The series began with Homecoming, a project revisiting shops across Ghana to reconnect with the practitioners from whom materials had been gathered. Works made from discarded inner tubes, license plates, and mechanical components re-enter the spaces that produced them. Permanent interventions are installed across shops in Madina, Dome, Christian Village, and Roman Ridge.
Suggested Resources
Suggested Resources
Anyah Dela, Walls as Luxury: The Economics of Informal Repair Shops. Log 66: Walls. 2026
.Anyah Dela, Tire as Roadside Ornament. NYU ITP Adjacent, Issue 13. 2026.
Anyah Dela, The Vulcanizer Shop: Materiality, Precarity, and Informal Repair Infrastructures, Thresholds 54, MIT Press. 2026
Anyah Dela, Art Beyond Waste, Limn Magazine, Issue 11 (The Obsolescence Issue) 2024.
Whatsapp: +233545906965
Email: studio[at]afrobutylism.com
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