Original artwork description:

Although Born in Southeast London, my Sierra Leonean and Lebanese heritage usually feeds directly into my practice. I look to convey a sense of empowerment to often marginalised ethnic groups in the western world, through the exploration of ethnic identity.

I seek to create a discourse confronting socio political issues with regards to the perception of various demographics being perceived of having varied humanistic value. With the disenfranchised often being undermined by the mainstream media; which somewhat paradoxically reflects an archaic hierarchy of status which has similarities with colonial ideologies. Such ethnocentrisms are still present to a certain extent within modern society.

Using antique texts and maps as the canvases for my works has been a constant within my practice. This process of bringing new value to often disregarded items creates a cohesion between the concepts behind the work and the aesthetic output. As I empower various figures; I simultaneously do so with the ground used as I place them within new contexts.

Regularly drawing with pen enables me to call upon traditional draughtsmanship techniques, influenced by sketches from the high renaissance. Through an almost contradictory process of using this relatively modern art medium with a classical approach to mark making: I look to celebrate authentic drawing within the digital age.

This work is a biro pen drawing on pages from an authentic Sierra Leonean book, collaged on textiles from Sierra Leone.

Materials used:

biro pen and fabric

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