Open Studio. November 2014

I will be opening my studio doors to the public over the weekend of the 15th and 16th of November 2014 between 11am and 6pm on both days.

This is an opportunity to see and purchase work directly from me. This means there are no gallery or agent fees. In addition, I will be showcasing work which has never been shown in public.

If you like unique handmade jewellery, please pay my very talented childhood friend Yejide Adeoye a visit. Yejide is conveniently located in unit 0, number 36,  just downstairs from me. Yejide and I are just two of more than 400 artists and designers on site who will open their doors over the weekend.

Visit the Second Floor website for more information on the studio complex. Find a PDF flyer for the event by clicking here, with lots of useful information about the event, including a map and public transport information.

The studio address is:

Second Floor Studios & Arts
Studio 0-45, Harrington Way London

Woolwich, London SE18 5NR

United Kingdom
(Please note: Studio visits by appointment only aside from open studio days).
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Art Success. Adelaide Damoah in Conversation with Victor Ehikhamenor

Victor Ehikhamenor is a Nigerian visual artist, photographer and writer. Born in Udomi-Uwessan, Edo State, Nigeria, Ehikhamenor has BA in English and Literary Studies from Ambrose Ali University, an MS in Technology Management and and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University Of Maryland, USA.
Ehikhamenor’s art is described in his bio as abstract, symbolic and politically motivated works with ties to his Benin Kingdom background. The work itself is at once striking, colourful and has an unmistakeably African aesthetic. I was lucky enough to attend the opening of his most recent exhibition at the Gallery of African Art in Mayfair London.
Mrs Cooper kindly opened up her space to me so that I could spend some time with the work and the artist himself. Walking around the generous space alone, without the crowds of Ehikhamenor admirers from the opening, I felt at home surrounded by the work. I saw hidden shapes and symbols and was able to truly see much more than I had been able to see at the opening. The work felt joyful and looked beautiful. It reminded me of some of the African cloths we have always used in our family home. However, upon closer inspection, it was apparent that the large scale canvases Ehikhamenor packs so much detail into have a darker side.
A humorous, passionate, deeply optimistic and well educated man, Ehikhamenor took time out of his hectic schedule to talk me through some of the works in the show and to discuss his thoughts on success in the art world.
Image courtesy of Gallery of African Art Mayfair. Art by Victor Ehikhamenor
Adelaide Damoah (AD): When were you born? I have looked but can’t seem to find your date of birth anywhere!
Victor Ehikhamenor (VE): Well, I am not a woman! But if anyone asks I tell them I was born February 19th 1970
AD: Pisces?
VE: I think so. Are you?
AD: No. Scorpio! I read that you have a BA in English and Literary Studies, an MS in Technology Management and an MFA in Creative writing from the University of Maryland! How did you go from literary studies and technology to art and why?
VE: First of all the art has always been there. I think I was born with that based on the environment that I grew up in. My maternal grandfather was a very successful blacksmith and my paternal grandmother was a cloth weaver. This meant I pretty much had all sorts of art forms around growing up. I didn’t meet my paternal grandfather. My mum told me about him and the kind of the stuff he made and I saw some of it. Art has always been there. Tthere was no art teacher or anything like that at the school I went to. Without having art at secondary school, you can’t go and study it at university, so I went for English and Literature. I don’t know why I picked it really, but I just enjoyed reading and writing. It was at the hight of good journalism back in the day. I wanted to write like those journalists.
After my undergrad, my dad sent me to America to complete my masters. When I got there, I realised that if I read English, because of the way things were there, I might not get a job. For a black immigrant with a very thick accent coming from Africa, what kind of job would I have been able to get reading English! So I switched. I knew I did not have to speak English to do well in technology and that was also at the height of the technology boom in the mid nineties. I studied, then got a job. I then got a scholarship to go and do a masters.
After the first scholarship, I decided to go and do technology management. I was a Unix System Administrator. I worked with National Geographic as an engineer, then I moved to US Pharmacopia- they are responsible for certifying certain types of drugs in the USA..
I was always painting and showing my work. People at National Geographic were buying my work. But technology was not interesting for me at all. I mean, I was making good money from it but I was not satisfied at all. I realised that I was not aspiring to be the best engineer or anything so I was just going to work and was not having fun and I hate it when I am not having fun! So in 2006 I applied to do an MFA at the University of Maryland. When I applied, the person I was speaking to informed me that they gave fellowships every year. They advised me to apply and put in all of the work that I had done. So I did that and I was the only student that got the fellowship that year.
AD: Wow
VE: So I went to do my MFA without paying a penny! They paid me to go to school which was interesting. In my second year, I had to do a little bit of work by teaching undergrads, so I taught at the university of Maryland and that was it. When I completed that, I intensified my writing and went to do my first exhibition in Nigeria. I left Nigeria in ’94, came to the UK , then left UK in ’96 for the US. The first time I went back home to do an exhibition was 2006. I had some of my works that were not sold, so I left them with the person that organised the show and I sold about 90 per cent of the works I bought from the US.
AD: Impressive!
VE: Yes it was crazy. He hung some work in his office I just decided to collect them when I came back after a year or so. Then someone came to start up a newspaper in Nigeria and they brought in consultants from the US. Usually, they will go around the city, so they visited the office and saw my work and were very exited about it and were asking, “Whose work is this?” They wanted to base their colour palette for the newspaper on my work.
They called me in the US and I was like, well I have never worked on a newspaper before, I don’t know what it is all about so, they can go ahead! You sort out the modalities and background and if they are going to acquire the work, you let me know…. All the rights and things that need to be signed, send me the contract papers for review. That was how that happened.
I visited Nigeria in 2008 and they were in Nigeria still. They were still working on the background works, setting up the newspaper and I visited them, they started talking and from there the man said, look, are you interested in this project? And I said, I don’t know where I can come in, I am not really a graphic designer, I’m a painter. But I know what it means, I know what good design work looks like, I know how to package things. So he said he wanted me to be the creative director because no one else had spoken to him about putting the paper together from a design perspective in the same way that I had creatively. He said he would talk to the publisher about me. That was how I went to Nigeria for a visit and two weeks later I was permanently placed in Nigeria again. They relocated me so that I could be the creative director for the paper.
AD: Wow.
VE: Yeah, I fell in love again with my country. We won the best designed newspaper the first year. But we were a bit too radical because we went after all the corrupt cases! They were not used to that in Nigeria! The owner of the newspaper is a Pulitzer winner. He is a Nigerian. He moved back from the US. I moved back from the US. The arts and culture editor moved back from the UK. The editor of the news paper, a woman, moved back from the UK. So we weren’t buying into the corrupt idea of not being able to publish a story because of being paid off by someone. We locked ourselves up in the office. I have worked 72 hours in the office before. We felt that we were making a very strong change in Nigeria and we ruffled the feathers of the establishment a bit. They were really scared of us.
AD: What was the newspaper?
VE: NEXT
AD: I think I have heard about it. Is it 234 NEXT?
VE: Yes, 234 NEXT.
AD: Oh yes! I think I have been interviewed by them before!
VE: Thank you! Yes, that is the online version of the paper.
AD: Amazing! OK so it sounds like you had quite a natural transition from working in technology to art. You mentioned that while you were working for US Pharmacopia, that you were painting at that point, before you even went to study and you were selling work then.
VE: Yes! I started selling art at the age of 9.
AD: From the age of 9?
VE: Yes! My uncle is a renowned photographer, so I grew up in an art home. My brother used to get me those plastic cameras you buy for kids as toys and I would line up my friends and pretend as if I was taking photographs, then I would go back and draw them. I gave them the drawings and they would give me money in exchange. I think that is what art sales is all about right!
AD: Wow! Yes! You were an enterprising child! One of my questions was going to be can you remember your first sale and how it felt.
VE: Well it was interesting, I was always doing it for fun. But the thing is that it is not the money aspect that drives me. When I am painting, I am having fun. Because of that I have always had my own business so that I knew that the businesses would take care of me so that I would not have to be desperate about art. When you get desperate, that is when you don’t do what you want to do. And once you don’t do what you want to do, for me, it is problematic. For other artists, I don’t know, everybody has their own cup of tea but that is mine. I like doing what I want to do.
AD: Can you remember your first solo show?
VE: My first solo show was at Utopia Gallery 14th Street New York. I think that was in 2000. I worked for National Geographic between ’98 and 2000, and a whole lot of my co workers – who collected my works actually, came to that exhibition.
AD: Were you taken on by the gallery or was that an independent show?
VE: I was taken on by the gallery.
AD: That was after university right?
VE: Yes.
AD: How did you get that gallery representation? Did they find you or did you find them?
AD: I think it was a friends referral. They really liked the work and so we started talking. We kind of agreed on where we wanted to go.
AD: Have you always had gallery representation since then?
AD: Yes. But I am a bit wary about it in certain places because representation can mean a whole lot of things so if I am not too sure of what is going on then I kind of slow down a little bit.
AD: Your bio states that your work is, “…abstract, symbolic and politically motivated work with unmistakeable ties to your old Benin kingdom background and that your works are influenced by the reality of African traditional religion and the interception of Western beliefs, memories and nostalgia.” Your symbols and motifs are said to be “reminiscent of childhood village shrines and art drawn by women.” Would you say that art was a natural progression for you due to your background? How does that translate into this show?
VE: Its a gradual progression, because the more you work, the more you begin to discover what you can do. But memories and nostalgia come into play a lot with my work, whether in writing in painting, even doing photography. If you look at some of the work here, they are like wall drawings. They take up an entire wall. So yes, the people you see, the symbols you see, they can be contemporary, they can be a throw back to the past as well. The Masquerade piece can be a contemporary piece and it can also be… Look if you have a leader that is not telling you the truth, he is masquerading! He is putting on a display that is not supposed to be. Look at this other piece which is called The Delegate. You can send people to go and represent you, but they are representing themselves. So they are kind of like chameleons. They give you different colours depending on what they want you to see- which is quite deceptive. The work can reference the past and therefore how the past bears on the present.
AD: Today is the first time that I have come in since the show and seen the work with no people interrupting the work. I am noticing a lot of things that I did not see at the opening. One of those things is that the work appears to be on cloth. It reminds me of the traditional cloth that I use to tie myself at home.
VE: It is actually canvas, but I prime it to look like cloth. A lot of people keep referring to it as cloth because of the detailed nature of it. The way I primed one is different to the way I primed another because one is bit stiffer, so I can mould it a little bit. But it cant be too stiff because it will start breaking apart. I don’t use ready made cloth, but I create it to have a cloth like feel.
AD: I am also noticing that the symbols and also the fact that the entire canvas is covered in detail. Is there a specific reason for that or is that just your style?
VE: Yes it is my style but it is like taking ABCD to form words. You take letters from the alphabet to form words. You then choose words to form sentences. You form sentences to become stories, so there are layers. When you want to analyse or critique a novel, you don’t go after the alphabet. You go after sentences, you go after story structure, you go after plot and characterisation…. Therefore, in the big pieces, it is pretty much like writing a novel. There are bits and pieces of symbols that come together to form a larger picture.
If you want to really drill into it, the symbols are there. The circular symbols represent the circle of life. The symbols that look like the letter W represent Kingship. When you look closely, you can see that what looks like a W is actually a crown. You have to distil yourself inside, to be able to extract the meaning. Then you have people, faces embedded in the work. Hidden. When you stand and look from a distance, you think that you can count the figures in the work. When you get a bit closer, you can see that there are faces embedded even deeper, behind and inside the figures. When you move over to another side, you notice entire figures that you never noticed before. I don’t just go about telling people this. I want you to engage with the work. I don’t want you to just look, get out and think that you have encountered Victor Ehikamenor, you have to look at it! You have to look closely at anyone to really know who they are. So that is how it is.
From left to right, myself, Victor Ehikamenot and Eri Otite, gallery manager at GAFRA on opening night
AD: What is the story of this piece entitled “Waiting Along the Hallway of Pleasure.”
VE: This one is about Lagos, about village life. It is about stories, it is about enjoyment. Pretty much Lagos and the way we knew it.
It is also referencing red light districts. When you take that further, you soon realise that there is a lot of human trafficking in there as well- for prostitution abroad. Some prostitutes go, some come back. It cuts across politics, it cuts across social, it cuts across identity… When you look at it, prostitution is the oldest profession there is.
Looking at the current political situation in Africa, they are practically prostitutes. They are political prostitutes. Especially Nigeria where if you are in one political party which is not favourable to your career, you run to another political party which is.
AD: Now this painting entitled, “Lovers of Good Evening Street.”
VE: It is similar to the other one. Look at it deeply. Every one is naked pretty much. But you have to look well to be aware that that is what is happening to everybody. The is a place in Benin City called Ugbague Street. This is the oldest red light district in Benin City. It is a short street, like the length of this gallery. And it was really famous. People talked about it a lot. It was where men went to when they were kids… That was before the whole AIDS thing. You would see people popping their heads out of doors and people drinking beer along the street! It would usually start at around six in the evening- when the prostitutes would start coming out. When they would call out to men to come and patronise them, they would say, “Good evening sir!” That is why this piece is called, “Lovers of Good Evening Street.”
AD: I love the humour, but at the same time there is a dark side. Eri, the gallerry manager mentioned it earlier and I agree with her! It reminds me of Picasso’s Guernica!
VE: Yes. The worse thing that has happened to Edo State is that they have had the highest number of young women leaving to Italy to go and prostitute. Ugbague is the only place that had a known red light district! What does that say? It was a particular group of people that were operating there. These were the great grandmothers, grandmothers and mothers of contemporary prostitutes that are there now! When you look at it, people just take things from the top, when they actually don’t know the history behind it. They go to Italy and Belgium and all those places. They strut the streets, saying, “Hello, good evening, how are you?” So, again, they bring a lot of money back home to build houses. But some come back dead! Some come back with all kinds of diseases. So I work with satire- but when you look a little closer, you realise that I am not actually joking.
AD: Yes, it is quite serious.
VE: I am trying to tell you something. If you pay attention enough, you realise that I am not kidding here. When you look at it, you actually realise that there is really nobody happy there. There is no person that is happy in the piece. It leaves everybody naked, it leaves everybody sad. Some have their heads bowed. The lines that I leave in there, if you look at them you will see that I hollowed out the people. Whereas in the previous piece, you had objects on the bodies of the people.
AD: The story of the piece has gone from being happy to being sad. What about this piece- “The Scramble for Big Afro Mama?”
VE: This one is all about the raping of Africa by the whites. This is the division of Africa. This is them dividing up Africa. That is why I call it the “Scramble for Big Afro Mama.” If you notice there is a woman and she is being gang raped. That is that. Finished. You can see the men raping her have Caucasian noses. The owner of the woman, an African man is trying to hold onto his Africa. There are people coming from the outside, the river… Everywhere. They are just all over her.
AD: I’ve got chills now… What would you say has been your biggest challenge to date as an artist?
VE: I grew up in a place where you were not made to see challenges. If someone puts a log of wood in your path, it is telling you to climb atop the log to see beyond where you would have seen rather than seeing it as something which blocks your path.
I know some people might not believe it, but I don’t see obstacles! It is just a matter of time for me… I am not trying to be a motivational speaker or anything of that sort! I mean I have had difficulties and everything, but everything I have ever wanted, I have always had. I grew up in a very loving environment. When it was time for my parents to send me to school in the US, I went. When I got there, I realised they didn’t even have to send me any money to go to school because of the scholarship.
I mean, why did I leave National Geographic? Because a white boss said that I had an accent. Meanwhile, I had worked there for two years and I had done really well. He could not see past my accent to my engineering work. He would not move me from being a contractor to being permanent staff. He used that as an excuse to move me to another place of work, where they had to pay for my Masters. Should I have been looking at him or should I have been looking at the opportunity that happened later on? He made me go back and read UNIX! I was doing Microsoft before. I moved to Sun Systems and learned how to be a UNIX Systems Engineer!
Some people are ashamed to say that they grew up in the Village because they did not make the best use of their village experience! I grew up in the village. I had more fun! I grew up in a huge compound with cars and anything that we wanted. Books, photography, toys, football… I grew up to realise that my cousins who lived in the cities did not have fun at all. They were caged! So they did not have that experience that moulded them. The best place to go for a university education is the village! You have life experience. You can then draw on those experiences or you can disregard them.
AD: It sounds like for you, where some things may present to another person as a challenge, you see a challenge as an opportunity.
VE: Or just a matter of time. The British Government once wanted to deport me from this country. They asked me to report to Gatwick. But I am here today, going and coming any time I like! If I based everything on people saying you can’t go to school here or you cant do certain things, I probably would not have been an artist in London. I probably would have been chasing that elusive thing… Wake up early in the morning, you have to run to this place. The best you can probably do is get a council job or something… When they wanted to deport me, I was like, well no. I know who I am. If you don’t want me to stay in this country, I will leave. And I left! Now, I come in at any time I want and I leave whenever I want and they don’t bother me.
Once I was complaining to my brother that my aunty would not say hello to me. I would greet her and she would ignore me and she would not return my calls. My brother told me that I had too much time on my hands- worrying about who was greeting me properly and who was not! He said, “Victor, go and read your books!”
AD: What about your biggest success to date as an artist? How did you achieve it?
VE: I don’t know what is called success really. Being alive alone is successful for me to be honest with you. A whole lot of my friends have gone. People who did not have the opportunity to go to school. A lot of my friends have never travelled out of their environment. When people see me writing for the New York Times, or they see my articles on CNN or they see me being interviewed, they consider that successful. That is them defining success for me. That is not me defining my success. My success is that I am alive… To be able to have this conversation with you, to be able to have this exhibition. When I was in the US, I had pretty much everything I could ask for. I had my own house and drove a sports car. I got those things with IT money.
But what is success? That you are happy inside you. I am very content with myself and to me, that is my biggest success. To be happy with yourself, to be happy with you you are. To be comfortable in your own skin and be comfortable to laugh! I don’t force my laughter. When I want to laugh, I have a deep belly laugh. I wake up happy to see another beautiful day again and my family are doing well. There are people who rely on drugs to stay alive!
AD: That is beautiful. My next question was going to be whether you consider yourself to be successful by your own definition?
VE: Yes. In Nigeria, people are buying my work, I just had a very successful collaboration with Ituen Basi. That is huge! We showed it to Vogue Italia at a Mercedes Benz show in South Africa. The NEXT newspaper was based on my colours. It is also what else do I do with that creativity around me, so I think that is where people should try to define my success really. Not just looking at painting. I mean, having a show in the Gallery of African Art, you can add that one as a successful feather to my hat. It is a renowned gallery. In its one year of existence they have done some really great stuff. For the space they are in, this is prime real estate in London, so you can say that is a success. I think this is the longest running solo exhibition here. Two months.
AD: Yes! It is a long time.
VE: I think it is Mrs Cooper’s belief in the work that she had seen. It is not easy for any gallery to tie down their space to one artist for two months.
AD: How did the relationship with Mrs Cooper and the Gallery of African art come about?
VE: I think she knew me before knowing me actually. She collected my work. She puts her money where her mouth is. Mrs Cooper bought my work last year before deciding to do a show, without even really knowing who I was. A mutual friend of ours suggested a show and one thing lead to the other. I sent in some work and she looked at it. She took her time to decide and after that, she decided to show the work and it was work all the way to make it a successful exhibition.
AD: What about the collaboration with the designer Ituen Basi?
VE: When we started the newspaper, we were profiling fashion designers in Nigeria to look out for. I was the one designing the newspaper. Her images came and she was using a lot of Ankara. When the images came to me, I thought, wow, the colours are like mine! They were so vibrant and her designs were really good. So I just filed it away somewhere in my mind- this idea of doing something with her.
Later on, I had an exhibition in an alternative space where they sell high end goods in Nigeria called Temple Muse. Her clothes were upstairs. It was like one of those shopping places where you have high end perfumes and that kind of thing, with clothes upstairs. A friend who was the fashion editor at NEXT saw the synergy between our work. She called me and made the suggestion. She said, “Victor, I don’t know if you would like to work with Ituen. I saw something light up in my head when I saw the way your work flowed into her own garments…” I told her that was interesting because I had always said that one day I would like to work with a decent fashion designer, but it has to be the very best. You have to be careful when you are moving your work in that way so that it does not devalue the work that you are doing. The fashion editor then called Ituen and that was how it came about. We had a meeting and started working.
AD: There seems to be something happening in the Western art world, with reference to this movement toward the African aesthetic. This is in part evidenced by GAFRA being in existence. Then there was the nomination of Lynette Yiadom-Boakye for the Turner prize in 2013. Then of course there was the 1:54 Contemporary Art Fair last year, the Tate show in 2013 and the Bonhams African art auctions. This shift is almost palpable and it seems to be more prevalent now than ever before in my opinion. I think the question is really relevant to you because you have your feet on both sides as you work in the US as well as Nigeria and exhibit internationally. How do you think that this shift is going to impact the careers of African artists in the diaspora and then more specifically your own career?
VE: I would say that it is an interesting development. I would also tell you that there is no way you can light a lamp and expect darkness to suppress that lamp. African art has always been there. The Western world- Picasso for example, has borrowed from Africa. I think that it is time for the Western world to say, OK, we can’t suppress these people any more. Suppression in quotes…
We have also said that it is time for us to do big things. We are no longer content with what we were doing before. We want to move up… By being here, Mrs Cooper is saying that she wants to play big time! She is saying, “I am not going to go and set up in Peckham where the bourgeois will not go to. I am going to be right in the middle of you guys here, whether you like it or not, you will walk into my gallery!” It is a bold statement! That is the statement African art is making to the art world. We will no longer be the underdogs. We are ready to play big time. You have the curators, you have the gallery owners, just saying look, we are here. You will play with us. We are going to play on this field together, if it is not level, we will find one way or another to level this field. That is what is happening right now.
The traffic is both ways and the traffic has to be both ways. We are no longer in that time when people could just take what they want and do whatever they liked with it. You take our cocoa, you come back with some expensive chocolate to sell us and we are scrambling for it. You come take the oil and you come back with lubricants that we can’t afford. You take our flowers and give us perfume we can not afford. No! If you want our flowers, lets do it here. That is what is happening in the art world.
You have to realise that you have various movements. You have New York, you have London, you have Asia, you have Indian art…. I think it is Africa’s time. I think we are ready for them. As an artist, I think I am ready for them. Wherever they want to go. You want collaboration with high end fashion designers? Here it is from our own end and it is high end. The materials are not your regular Kente that you see. The materials are high end silk made in the best factories in the world.
AD: Do you see this shift only helping your career personally?
VE: No. It is expansive. Everybody has to benefit from it. Whatever happens to one person happens to the other. You see it’s like Chimananda Adiche. When she became successful, that is when every publisher started looking for the next Chimananda. When you look at all these other African writers coming after her, they are feeding on her success. The success of one person has an effect on other people.
Mrs Coopers success in this place will make other people look towards Africa. She is not only doing it for herself. Even if that was the original intention, it can not happen like that. Because people will come here and look at what is happening and be inspired. They will see that it is possible. One person has to tell the other people that this is possible.
AD: You mentioned Chimananda. I know that you have illustrated a book for her. How did that come about?
VE: We are good friends. Before the whole world knew who she was, I always regarded her as a very beautiful soul. She is not a selfish person. Once you are not a selfish person, then I get along with you. We have known each other since 2003, which is more than 10 years now. I met her in DC when her book came out. We had coffee together and the next thing I knew, her publisher contacted me and said that she insisted that I was the one who supplied the image for her forthcoming book! She is that great. Recently, she forced the Guardian UK to make sure that I was the one who photographed her. That is the photo downstairs, I will show you later. They commissioned me to photograph her in Nigeria for an article when she won the Book Circle Award in the US. One way or the other, she has always given back to friends and to those who are around her.
AD: Going back to the talking about the “art establishment,” and I have a feeling I know what you are going to say to this question! I have spoken to quite a few black artists who feel somewhat intimidated by the Western art establishment with regards to getting validation in order for them to feel like they can further their careers. Have you have any experiences that would justify that fear?
VE: It is a very emphatic NO! Remember what I told you about my brother and the woman who would not say hello to me? Keep working! They will come for you. And when they come for you, you better be ready! I mean, what are we talking about? Look, Harvard has used my work to illustrate their magazine. The Financial Times has profiled me. I don’t even know if I am qualified any more to answer that question. When the museums are ready they will come. And I will be ready for them.
AD: Is that kind of validation important to you?
VE: I mean for any artist, you want to be recognised for the hard work that you are doing, but it doesn’t give e sleepless nights. Again, when the time is right, they will come.
AD: Do you think that having a formal art education is important to having a successful art career or not?
VE: It is a door opener. It is a part of networking. When you look at the MFA programmes in the US, and I am very familiar with that whole academic world, it is networking. Its not like it is going to teach you anything way beyond what you already know. You can not take a carpenter and turn him into a writer. Having said that, when you look at the Iowa MFA, you see that on graduation, they are able to fuse into the publishing world because they already have a name. If you study law at Harvard, you already have a name, so you can practice in Washington DC pretty much straight away. Here in the UK, it would be Goldsmiths for artists…
For me, it is almost like gate crashing a party! I want to go to this party, so I will find a way of getting in there! I was getting ready to go for Yale MFA in Fine Art when Nigeria came calling. That was my next move. Because again, when you go there, it is part of networking. You have Kehinde Wiley, you have Wangechi Mutu. All the African guys go to Yale. They have a say in the world of art. I might still go there. I might go and have some fun!
AD: You have achieved a lot and we have mentioned just a few of those achievements. Do you have any further dreams for your art career?
VE: I don’t know. Again, I let things happen. It is when you have those crazy ideas- that is when you put unnecessary pressure on yourself and you start doing all kinds of things that probably would not have come naturally to you. That is not to say that I am ambition-less! I mean, I would like to go to a big museum, I would like to show at the Tate, at MOMA, at the Brooklyn museum, I would like to show in Japan… All the places where artists of my generation are showing, I would like to show there. My dad always said to me, “Whatever your mates are doing well, make sure you are doing it as well.”Again, it doesn’t give me sleepless nights, because I know, if I keep working hard and pushing myself for myself, not for anybody, and stay out of trouble, I will be good!
AD: Finally, what advice would you give to other artists wishing to follow in your footsteps ?
VE: They should keep working. Read as well. Read wide. Consume what others are doing. Visit galleries, pay attention and if they can afford it, get a good education. It is a leveller. Money is not the leveller. Education is the leveller.
Victor Ehikhamenor’s “Chronicles of the Enchanted World” is on at the Gallery of African Art, Mayfair, London until the 19th July 2014 
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Art Success: Adelaide Damoah in Conversation with Kelvin Okafor

Nwanebuni_(Self Portrait II)

At only 28 years old, Kelvin Okafor is one of the best draughtsmen of our generation in my opinion. Born in 1985, Okafor’s passion for the pencil started at a very early age. Like many young art world stars, he appears to have come out of nowhere, but Okafor has been quietly perfecting his craft since he was a little boy. When his friends were playing outside, Okafor was inside drawing with his charcoal pencil. His passion for drawing followed him and propelled him to study fine art at Middlesex University from which he graduated in 2009. He has already won awards and had national and international media exposure for his extraordinary talent.

Critic Estelle Lovatt describes the work as “Emotional Realism” in her write up for his exhibition catalogue. She is right. His pencil portraits- some you will recognise and some you will not, leave you feeling… Something… It is like they are alive. They breathe! Okafor’s portraits have more of an impact than any photographic portraits I have ever seen, so labelling his work as photo realism seems somehow wrong.
Okafor’s début exhibition opened at the Albermarle Gallery in Mayfair at the start of May 2014. I was lucky enough to receive an invite to the opening. The work on display was overwhelming and astonishingly beautiful. So perfectly executed that I could only think that he must have been touched by God himself.
Kelvin, a humble, kind and striking young man, was kind enough to take time out of his hectic schedule in the run up to his début show, to discuss his work and dreams with me. It was an inspiring and surprisingly funny conversation.
Adelaide Damoah: I remember you telling me when you first got taken on by the Albermalre Gallery.
Kelvin Okafor: Yea… Still feels like a dream. Every day I am just incredibly appreciative.
AD: I saw on the website that they are giving you a solo show in May?
KO: Absolutely yeah.
AD: So you are working towards that?
KO: Yes. It is so crazy because it’s like, on average it takes 80 to 100 hours to complete a portrait. I am quite surprised that I have been able to keep the work ethic going. With all of the interviews, work shows and shows… It is amazing.
AD: How long did you say it takes you to do one portrait?
KO: On average it is between 80 and 100 hours. Some of my last pieces of work were between 116 and 123 hours.
Mother Teresa
AD: That is a long time wow. To put that into context, how many days is that?
KO: When I have a free day, I do 12 to 14 hours of drawing. I wake up at six, I read for two hours, I work out for two hours and I start at 10 and I finish at two am. It takes like a week and a bit to do a portrait- that is if I have that many days free to draw.
AD: That is serious! Well saying that, it sounds like my typical day, but I don’t get to spend that much time on art. It seems to be the way for many creative types- especially staying up late.
KO: I guess the plus side is that I am doing something I love to do. It does not necessarily feel like work. I don’t even feel like I am on this planet when I draw. I just zone out and hours pass without eating. My friends tell me that I need to relax and take time out, but for me it is not work.
AD: I completely understand where you are coming from. My record for a painting was 18 hours straight. If it wasn’t for people who cared about me reminding me to eat and drink something, I probably would not have because you are just in the zone! You graduated in Fine Art from Middlesex in 2009 right?
KO: That is correct
AD: I read that you used to practice drawing at home when you were little. So cute. How old were you when you decided that making art was what you wanted to do for your life?
KO: I remember first having the love and fascination with pencils at the age of eight. I guess I must have been a bit of an odd child, because I was fascinated by something that was so old and traditional, when I should have been outside playing games. But for me, I was fascinated by the fact that a single piece of lead could create such variations in tone and value, almost creating that illusion of colour. That inspired me, so I have always had that love, but I was 15 when I knew that I could draw. That was only because at school my teachers and peers were praising me and they were impressed with the work. It was after university when I fully said that this was what I wanted to do for a living.I decided after university that I wanted to make a living from drawing. I did not know how I could make it lucrative, but I have always wanted to draw.
Corinne Bailey Rae
AD:When you made the decision to go to university and study fine art, you were not thinking that this was what you wanted to do for a career, but you knew that you wanted to study further?
KO: Absolutely. I wanted to learn the history. I wanted to learn more about my genre of art and also others, so that I could have that strength behind me, to I know why I am doing what I am doing. What it means and who has done it before me. At school- when I was studying for my GCSE’s, they didn’t tell me how to be a Picasso or how I could be a Da Vinci selling art work. They told us about using it to be a curator or a teacher. I never really had the vision of having my art works in galleries when I was younger.
 We had our end of year degree show at the Truman Gallery and that was the first time I had exhibited my art work in a full exhibition. I saw what was happening at the reception and I was shocked. I spoke to a lot of galleries that came down as well and I kind of visualised myself selling my art work. It has always been a labour of love. I never really thought about money and how I could make money out of it.
AD: Obviously studying fine art, you would have studied all sorts of different mediums. Is there a specific reason you stuck with pencils?
KO: After my A Levels, I did a year course- City and guilds at art school. Pencils have been my number one love since I was a child, but I have always loved all mediums. I can paint, I can sculpt, but pencils were always the number one for me. I went to art school because I knew that pencils were my first love, but I wanted to see where other mediums would take me. At art school, I learned how to make stained glass windows, how to work with glass, how to sculpt with clay, how to work with wood and I fell in love! But in the end, pencil was… I just could not get away from it.
After art school I decided that this was what I wanted to make a niche for myself. So I went to university to learn more about the history of art and about my genre. But because it is such a traditional medium, and portraiture in my style is quite traditional and old fashioned, it wasn’t really encouraged much. At university I was a bit discouraged. Even though the teachers were supportive in the way they gave lectures and the way they tried to push us to get good grades, I was pushed not to do what I was doing because they wanted me to be more conceptual, more contemporary.Not to be so controlled, so accurate and precise. They wanted me to change my style. But that was my love… I did try to change a bit, but ultimately, I wanted to stick with my own style and so I stuck with it. I found that the more I drew in my style, the more I loved it and after I left university, I just decided that this was what I wanted to do and that this was how I wanted to do it.
AD: I knew being stubborn was a good quality to have! So how come you focused on portraits specifically?
KO: At university, my work was based on the Trafalgar Square Lions, but since I was a child, I was always fascinated with human faces. My parents reminded me that when I was five years old, I would ask people, “When you smile, what do you think of?” 
I have always been intrigued and fascinated by expressions and why people make the sort of expressions that they make. Especially when people are day dreaming and they have this blank expression. The way the light reflects on a face, creating a mood or a story, a subject, a space. That inspired me and I have always had that fascination with faces and trying to prompt an emotion and find a message about someone and try to bring that through.
Tinie Tempah
AD: Why celebrities?
KO: The reason I initially did celebrities was because my work is all freehand…. When I was younger, I used to love the fact that I could draw things and people could recognise what I had drawn just from pencil and paper. So for me celebrities- people like Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela They have had such influence on us as human beings and have performed such noble deeds and I almost wanted to draw them to glorify them. But at the same time, it was also to show people that I could draw because everyone will recognise a famous face. People like Amy Winehouse are instantly recognisable, so it makes me feel like my drawings are accurate and I can draw with precision.
So it was two things- the fact that I was drawing people who had done noble deeds and on the other hand, people could recognise famous faces. This was a good way for my audience to grow and that is what happened.
After university I started drawing celebrities and straight after university, my friends encouraged me to put some work on Facebook. I joined Facebook and I put my Trafalgar Square Lions there and I started to draw portraits. Then I started to draw celebrities because people engage with the celebrities they recognise. It was also a way for me to practice and see how precisely I could draw.
At the same time, it was to show people that at the end of the day, celebrities are human beings. I think that humanises them. So many people feel like they are a different type of person, when we are all human beings. They probably have a little bit more money in their pockets than we do, but we are all human at the end of the day. These days my subjects are predominantly every day people.
AD: I also read that you like to work predominantly from photos purely because of the amount of time that you spend on each piece. How are you then able to capture the expression that you are looking for? Do you photograph them yourself?
KO: Yes, I photograph them myself. To me photography is inspiration and you can only rely so much on your memory. Even though to be honest, I don’t think that I have actually got a photographic memory, but I do memorise faces and many of my drawings are memory based. Photography is there for me as proof of a moment. You know, once you take a photograph it is there forever, but when you have it in your memory, it may change based on what you felt or how you were feeling at that moment, so it can be exaggerated.
I take many photographs at different angles and also I might take the eyes and lips from different photographs and put them together to make up the final result. And the wonderful thing about it is- and this is the thing with hyper-realism. You have the chance to alter or to move something because- you can draw inspiration from photographs- with lighting for example. When you photograph a subject it might be too dark, but you have the freedom to exaggerate the light from somewhere else to really convey an essence about someone and bring forward the colour of their eyes or their hair. You know…
Sir Derek Jacobi
AD: Do you use photo-shop to chop stuff up and make it how you want it before you start working from it?
KO: No just the ordinary photographs that I work from, but it helps for me to be able to turn it black and white because when you are working in pencils, it can be very difficult to get the values of greens and reds as they are very similar. But when it is in black and white, you won’t know what colour is which. Then I just use how I feel. When I have the photograph there, very literally I can work around the shape and then I have the freedom to change the angle or to bring the light in from somewhere else just by using my imagination.
AD: I have seen your list of exhibitions- which is very impressive considering that you only graduated in 2009! Were any of them solo shows or is this one your first solo show?
KO: Yes, this is my first solo show, which is why I said that this is like a dream. I am ever so grateful… There is just no way that I can express my gratitude because I have always been fed negative comments about struggling artists and only successful once they die. To have this considering where I have come from… It has shown me to really focus during hard times and to go for what you really love and believe in. All of the shows I have had before this one. The Mall Galleries and the National Open art Competition… I am very grateful.
AD: I was at the opening for the National Open art Competition. That was when I first saw your work and I was in complete awe! That was in 2012 wasn’t it?
KO: Wow, thank you! Yeah it was.
Kelvin Okafor with Neil Lawson-Baker. Founder of National Open Art Competition and his piece for the competition
 
AD: Can you remember when you sold your first piece?
KO: The very first piece of work I sold was at my final year show at university at the Truman Gallery. After the show there was some interest in my Trafalgar Square Lions piece. I was not sure how to price it as I was just starting out. I have always been quite humble as an individual. It has never been about money for me, my love for art. But you have to have confidence in your work. The prices of my works are what they are right now because of the value and the demand. But back then, the value was £100 or £200 for a portrait, I didn’t mind and that is about what I sold it for.
 
AD: What did that first sale feel like?
KO: Amazing. For my family, it made them feel like there may be something. Because unfortunately, there was not really much emotional support for me in terms of pursuing a career in art. They have always wanted me to do what I love to do, but they were looking out for me financially and they did not feel like it would be lucrative for me to have a career in art. They thought it was just me being selfish and I felt selfish just doing what I loved to do and not thinking about money. But after selling that drawing, it made them think that this could work out. It made me feel like that as well. I felt like I could actually profit as an artist.
John-Paul_(For Love That is Agape)
AD: Your parents, are they Nigerian?
KO: They are Nigerian yes.
AD: My parents are Ghanaian so I can understand where you are coming from! Traditional African parents are often very much of the mindset that you are not going to make any money doing this type of thing so what is the point. They say things like, “Be a lawyer, a doctor, an accountant! What is this art! What kind of nonsense, you are going to starve and then who is going to support us your parents?”
KO: Oh my God! That is exactly how it is! And it is sad,. But at the same time, I don’t really blame them because.. I have two sisters- they are twins, and a younger brother who is only 24 and we were all born here in the UK. They wanted us all to be free financially. It is the academic based careers like being a doctor or lawyer that they feel will provide the best opportunities to make money. But at the end of the day, for I wanted to prove that that is not really the case.
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AD: What would you say has been your biggest challenge to date as an artist and how did you overcome it?
KO: That is a good question. My biggest challenge has been financial. After university, especially when my friends and age mates were are renting their own places, buying their own properties, forming relationships and going out and having that freedom of having a job. Me not being able to support my family, you know it was hard. After university, I continued working with celebrity portraiture. I’ve always been doing portraits but it was only after university that I had a full portfolio. When I joined Facebook between 2009 and 2010, I had this body of work and it was creating quite a big buzz.
I was on different art websites and my name was growing. But I was only 24 at the time and many people thought it was unreal and impossible because of that. I had won no awards and there was nothing of me anywhere so for them, it must be impossible. Then there was an art website that I was a member of and unfortunately, there was a forum made about my work being fake. I don’t even want you to mention the name of the site because sadly, artists that I respected and admired, went on this forum and insulted me. It turned racial. It was not just about my work. When that was happening, I asked the staff for help every day. It is an American website so we were in different time zones. This meant that at 4am I was receiving private emails from people being racist.
The wonderful thing about being online is that you can make friends and artists have communities. But then I found that these same people who were saying nice things about my art were slandering me. At first it felt like a compliment when people were saying it could not be real because the work looked so much like photographs, but when it turned racial and I started receiving hateful emails, I just could not understand it. Emotionally I was a bit low. They chased me everywhere, including Facebook and they even called my university.
AD: What?
KO: Yes! I had a call from my university asking if I was OK because they were having people calling them and asking if I attended the university. They were going around to different art websites to get me removed and certain art websites did so because they had received so many complaints about my work.
In 2010, because my work was growing in a good way, I started to receive some commissions from clients and then some of those clients who had already requested work said that they were not sure because they had heard that my works were fraudulent! It was a very difficult time for me, but at the same time it was the biggest blessing, because then, at that moment, I decided to make Evolutions – which were videos of my drawings where I would photograph my drawings from start to finish at each stage. This showed people how I actually create a portrait. That lead to something wonderful because I was able to inspire and encourage other artists. After that, some people came back and confessed to being one of those who said my work was fake and that they could now see that the work was real and genuine.
Emotionally that was very difficult for me. Financially, I was trying to make a living out of something which I thought could only be commission based work. Losing potential clients and then having this bad reputation and people thinking my work was fake- it was a bit difficult to bounce back from that. So that was tough, but it completely changed around in 2011 when I started to document all of the stages of every drawing that I did.
Mia III. Sensitivity
AD: Wow. That sounds so hard. I had no idea that that happened.
KO: Whenever I have been asked that in an interview, I would never want to name the site.. Because I kind of felt like the staff at that website were not very helpful. I was asking for help for ways to block these people so that I could focus. But they just did not give me any help. They just let it go. I took myself off the site and tried to deal with work again. I don’t want to mention them because by doing so, I will just be giving them more attention- whatever that means.
 
AD: And then they were calling you racist names on top of it?
KO: Yea! They were saying things like “Nigerian scam artist with your fake drawings…” It was a bit rough. I was seeing those emails and I was shocked. I believe that you attract whatever it is that you think about. So I don’t like to think negative things. I just try to get myself away from it. But when you are receiving those emails you are reminded and then it drops you emotionally. You are trying to focus on the positive and to create new work, but the new work is being slandered by people. But I guess that is the good and the bad of the internet right? You have the plus side where you don’t even have to show your face and you can profit or have a business online. But then at the same time, you can have internet bullies who hide behind a screen and try to make peoples lives a living hell by being negative to people.
AD: Wow. Well moving on to something more positive!
KO: Well I actually think it was a very positive time for me looking back at it. I was very accessible online back then. People would ask me questions and I would always be willing to answer. Even though I am still that way now, but at the same time, I was too accessible to the extent where I was not really focusing on my work. I was trying to answer every single persons need when you can’t really do that. You have to lay back and just focus on your work. I felt like it was a positive time because it made me create videos where people could see my work from start to finish and I found that it helped so many people. For me that is the biggest positive because as an artist, that is my number one objective. As a person even, my objective is to be of service to someone in a good way. So it was a very positive time for me, but at the same time, it was difficult to deal with because I did not understand what was happening.
AD: But you dealt with it in the best way possible, which was to show people what your process was and that obviously reaped positive results in the end.
KO: Yes!
King Hussein
AD: Excellent. What has been your biggest success to date and how did you achieve it?
KO: Last year, so much happened, both from a personal perspective and in my life as an artist. It is kind of hard to pin point exactly what the biggest success is. I guess looking from the outside in, being on the BBC, such a big broadcast station, I feel that led to recognition for me. I don’t think that it is because I have this amazing gift and I am something special. No. I think it is because, unfortunately there are so many incredibly talented people who are far greater than I am skilfully but they just have not been recognise by a big station like the BBC. From then, it lead to me meeting high profile people and people that I never thought I would meet. I have drawn some of the people that I am actually meeting now and it is amazing. I feel like that was a great big achievement for me. But like the greatest success… I don’t know… Because I can’t really pin point one thing.. The position that I am in today, I can’t really say that I am established, as yet. For me, being established, is being established world wide. Although I feel like I have had some recognition worldwide, I would love to have my works be seen in galleries worldwide. But as an artist, I do feel like where I am today, being a part of the Albermarle Gallery, having the solo show.. This is my biggest accomplishment.
AD: How did you get involved with the Albermarle Gallery?
KO: Wonderfully, Katherine Roberts my business manager actually knew and recommended the gallery. I have been around the galleries in Mayfair when I was younger and I went in the Albermarle Gallery once but never could I have imagined being a part of the team. We went into the gallery one day. This was after the whole buzz happened. And I came with some of my works to show Tony the gallery manager. His reaction was just amazing. He obviously sees lots of artists and he was just telling me that he had not seen anything like this and that made me feel very very happy.
Kathryn Roberts with Kelvin Okafor at Albermarle Gallery Mayfair
AD: How did you meet Katherine in the first place?
KO: She was the founder of the Cork Street Open art competition and unfortunately, last summer was the last one. But she had the winter show exhibition and I submitted for it, I got in and I had three of my drawings in there. I won the runners up prize and I was in the exhibition. Funnily enough, it was just before the whole BBC thing happened. How it all started- I don’t want to get off subject now, but Middlesex University keep track of the ex students and what they are doing after graduation. The PR lady contacted me for a press release on the phone because they saw that I had been featured in Vanguard newspaper- a big newspaper in Nigeria. They saw the exhibitions that I was in and that I was growing. I gave her the information on the phone and then a few days later, I won the prize at the Cork Street competition. They asked me to do a video interview after winning the prize so we did that. Then she sent it to press outlets everywhere and the BBC caught on. I went back to university to do a master-class and had the interview there. And that is how it kind of took off.
Katherine does business management for artists as well. It was around the end of January 2013 when I was on the BBC. Then after that, my phone just would not stop ringing! It was wild! I started getting hundreds of emails and lots of agents and managers were calling me. I never knew anything about the business side to art so I was a bit confused as to what to do. Thankfully, Katherine was there and she was able to guide me through it.
The prize that I won in Cork Street included a £1000 prize and a part of it was for services- so helping out with promotion and getting you into galleries. She helped me as an agent. So she helped me with emails and getting back to people and I felt comfortable with her. But at the same time, it was so weird, I was being wined and dined by these agents and managers and all these really wealthy people. I am very emotional and am probably too emotional for a guy! I love people and I choose to see the best in them. Having interviews and meetings with these people made me feel extremely uncomfortable, because, looking in their eyes, it felt as though they didn’t see a human being. They saw an asset. They just saw money. I was uncomfortable and I just felt like wow, is this what it is like in the business world. At first with Katherine, I kind of felt the same way, but after getting to know her, I got to trust her as a person. I went along with her and it went from there.
AD: Wow, that must have been scary. I can imagine them with dollar signs in their eyes!
KO: Yea! It was so weird, like I was being invited to the Ritz and all sorts of places. Even going to these places, I was thinking what have I done for you to warrant this- because I didn’t know what they wanted. I just thought they were being really nice and they just wanted get to know me. Not knowing that at the end of a £200 meal that they paid for, they were asking me, “What can we do for you and what can you do for us?” I was thinking- what?? That was a big learning curve. Learning about the whole business side to art and seeing how that works.
AD: Well sort of staying on the subject of business, many Western Art world experts have started to focus their attention to discuss, at some length this shift that is happening towards the African art aesthetic- especially African art from the continent. This shift in art world thinking is obviously having an impact because we had the African Art show at the Tate in 2013, the 1:54 show in 2013 and Lynette Yiadom Boackyi being nominated for the Turner prize in 2013. So there is all this stuff happening! What I am interested in is whether you think that this shift will have any impact on African artists or black artists in general going forward? If so why?
KO: I think it will inspire lots of black artists because it will give them the courage and the faith to embrace their culture and what they want to do. At university, because of my heritage, they thought that I should be making African art and encouraged me to look at artists like Chris Offilli. I felt like that was not necessary because for me, art is expression, it could be absolutely anything. It does not have to be about where you are from. I think that this movement that is happening is good because it will bring more African artists forward to embrace their culture and heritage and I think lots of things can manifest from that. It could be the start of something new.
Rochelle
AD: I think so too. Can you see it impacting your career personally? Despite the fact that you would not look at your work and think that the artist is black, do you see the shift impacting your career because of the fact that you happen to be that?
KO: Maybe emotionally. I can see it encouraging me to embrace my heritage, but in terms of my craft, after this solo show, I intend to work in colour and with pastels in oils. I want to build a portfolio for another solo show, hopefully two years after. It is going to be in portraiture, kind of the same thing I am doing right now but in colour. To be honest, I have always felt like my work may change in terms of genre. I do feel that there is a good chance it could affect me and have an impact on my style of work in the future. I am actually seeing it. In Cork Street, there is a gallery called the Gallery of African Art.
AD: I know the gallery.
KO: I went there recently when there was a Ghanaian artist having his exhibition The work there was amazing and I was inspired… You never really know what could happen. When you are inspired, things change and it could impact you in so many different ways. It could be politics or your work ethic or the way you see art or your philosophy behind art. So I think that there is a chance it could, but I can’t say that it will happen right now because I have this plan for what I want to do right now.
Toby
AD: Looking at it from a different perspective, but along similar lines, I have spoken to a number of black artists who are intimidated by the so called Western Art establishment because they are afraid that it will not accept them because they are black. At the end of the day, this is a very old school, traditional institution where they will not necessarily block you for being black- however, there are some artists who have felt that in a very real way. Have you had any experiences which would substantiate that fear and if so what were they and how did you deal with them? Obviously we have discussed what happened with the website who shall not be named! But just in terms of the establishment itself, being as close as you are now, have you felt anything like that?
KO: I feel very fortunate that growing up, my peers were of mixed heritages and cultures. My friends range from Asian, to African, Caribbean, American, European to Irish.. I went to St Ignatius College in Enfield. There were lots of different ethnicities. It was funny because in the school playground, you could see the kids start to segregate. You would have the Irish, the Africans, the blacks, the whites. Everyone separated and stuck with what was familiar to them. But I have always been with everyone and I was accepted everywhere because I embraced everywhere. I didn’t associate myself solely with just one person.
During university, I was one of the only black students. I feel like that may have had a part to play in why my tutors encouraged me to look at African art and to work in that genre. I could appreciate it but that was not what I wanted to do. When applying for the Mall Galleries and the National Open Art competition, some of my friends were asking, why I was making art, as it is a predominantly white upper class interest! “Are you sure they are going to accept you?” They would ask! I would hear these things, but as I said earlier, I am a believer that what we become what we think about and it is very important for us to focus on the good. To focus on what we want. I hear those things but I do not focus on them because I know that if I do, I will attract them.
So when I entered these competitions, I entered feeling proud of what I do and feeling like my work could inspire. It was more about what my work could do for people and it didn’t really have anything to do with race.
But now, I get people asking me if I think this success has come because I am black and because I am from Tottenham… Maybe, maybe not. I don’t want to think like that. I just feel like I got blessed with the opportunity to be recognised for what I do and its been appreciated. People ask me how I can have the confidence to put my work in these upper class shows being from Tottenham and they ask me how I feel about it.
The funny thing as well Adelaide, is that when I think about it, I have had interviews with and I have met people who are from that upper class background. Knowing where I am from and that I am a black male the slang terminology comes in! Some interviewers will actually approach me saying, “You aright bruv?”
AD: No!
KO: Yes! Some of my friends speak like that so I can relate, but when they heard that I could articulate myself without using slang, they completely changed! It was almost like they were shocked that I was intelligent and could speak very well! Maybe I speak very well to them because they assume that I will speak a certain way because of where I am from.
AD: Yes.
KO: It is funny but I just laugh and let it go. I don’t like to think about race in a negative way- even though I see it! It is there! But I don’t like to think about it. I just like to think solely about the work.
AD: Well its not helpful to dwell on it in those terms anyway because as you say, thoughts become things.
KO: I really do believe that
AD: Good. So how would you define success in the art world? Forget everyone else, I want your personal perspective.
KO: I would define success in the art world as being very proud of what you do and you being confident about what you do. Having that faith and courage to share your work with others and have your work in galleries where other people can see it. I think as an artist, that is success, being able to share your work with all types of people. I have always been very sensitive. When I was younger, I used to just draw and I never shared my work. Whenever I was upset, I would draw. When I was happy I would draw. I drew to express myself, to let go and to purge. To be able to share something so personal and for you to be proud of what you do, I feel like that is success you know. Not necessarily financial… Money is a good thing. It can help yourself and others, but I think emotional and spiritual fulfilment is most important. Having that pride and confidence in what you do.
AD: Yes, agreed. By your definition, would you consider yourself to be successful?
KO: Yes I do!
AD: Good!
KO: But I tend to push myself so I am not where I want to be. Even in terms of skill, I still feel like there is still so much more for me to give, but I am very grateful. I still feel that I am successful in terms of the way I view my work.
Kerry. Glow
AD: Brilliant. So what is the biggest and most ambitious dream you have for your work?
KO: The biggest and most ambitious dream… To have it exhibited worldwide. To have my work physically seen in different countries all over the world, not just online. Also to inspire more people around the world. Last September I had a workshop in Tate Modern and it was sold out in an hour. It was incredible! Giving these talks and teaching the younger ones, I feel like it is a dream come true. Even though teaching young ones was not necessarily my ultimate dream, I feel like it is so important because very often, when you are in your early teens and even sometimes into the mid twenties, you don’t really know what you want to do. Believing in your dream can seem so corny and unrealistic. But having someone to encourage your dreams, especially at that age, I think is helpful.
AD: Talking of… What advice would you give to other artists wishing to follow in your footsteps?
KO: Persevere, persevere. If you have something you love to do, do it. It is scary the sacrifices that you have to make to follow your dreams. Friendships, even relationships. Being able to let go is difficult. It was hard for me to let go of a specific relationship. It is also hard for me to sacrifice going out to clubs with friends and having a social life and security- like through having a comfortable nine to five job. But your dream, its not going to be easy to pursue it but… Perseverance is what I would tell any artist. Persevere no matter what.
Okafor signing limited edition prints
Kelvin Okafor’s show “Portraits,” is on at the Albernarle Gallery Mayfair until the 31st May 2014
Kelvin Okafor on Website

 

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USB 2

USB 2

I am calling this USB 2 simply because my brain is in shut down mode and is refusing to come with a more imaginative title.

It is a work in progress. I will add more to the drawing itself at a later date. I am still going with this idea of humans and technology. The lady could be lying on a phone or a tablet. It does not really matter, the point is still the same. We have become so plugged in that we no longer even realise it. I used the metaphor of brain shut down at the start of this little description unintentionally. Maybe it was a subconscious thing. In any case, I am keen to continue exploring this idea further. The organic umbilical cord as the USB, permanently connecting us to our devices and to each other?

One could see it as a metaphor for being in the womb. We are at an unknown stage of foetal development from a technological stand point. Who knows where we will be in another 10 years. Actual human hybrids? A virtual world. What technological advances will we be taking for granted in 20 years time?

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USB

USB

 

I have said before that I have been pondering the idea of technology and man being inextricably linked in modern times. Human hybrids we are becoming… Ideas for how to express this through my work have been floating around my head for some time and I have made a few concept sketches over the years.

 

This is one of the few that I feel comfortable enough to publish. It is based on a sketch of a man I saw on the DLR just a few days ago. He was, just like many of the people I sketch, completely absorbed by what he was looking at on his mobile phone.

 

I will continue to develop this idea over time. Hopefully it will evolve into something I can make a series of paintings out of…

 

 

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Big Lady Asleep on the Bus

big lady

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