Two to Tango, marks Emmanuel Taku’s editions debut, graphically reinterpreting his distinct approach to portraiture through elaborately layered screenprints with intricate collage elements. The saturation color and density of ink achieved with more than 20 colors per print showcase the artist’s adept use of tone to create an image that sits at the intersection of depth and flatness, creating a visual tension that draws in the viewer.​

Taku adorns the head of his figures with collaged clippings from magazines and newspapers, relying on his intuition to isolate words that connect to the subjects and composition. Printers at Brand X meticulously crafted die-cut printed elements selecting techniques to best embody the inherent nature of the source materials. Varnish was added to the words taken from magazines to capture the sheen of their printed pages and Kozo paper was used to for the newspaper elements, left matte, to manifest the fibrous nature of newsprint.  ​

Textiles are at the center of Taku’s work, intimately referencing his family through the patterned fabrics of dresses sewn by his mother and paisley designs favored by his sister. Printed with glossy enamel, the delicate floral patterns are slightly raised above the paper’s surface as they dance across the subject’s clothes. The florals run uniformly across the image without adhering to the folds and dimensionality of the garments. The pronounced and abstracted motif adds texture to the print, evoking the artist’s mixed-media practice and channeling his ethos through the print medium. ​