I am an honouree as part of the Forbes 30 Under 30 list (Europe). In 2022 I was elected as a member of The Royal Society of British Artists and won The UK New Artist of the Year Award at Saatchi gallery. 

My practice looks to champion figures from ethnically diverse backgrounds that have conspicuously been omitted from traditional British portraiture. Through the exploration of identity within my ballpoint pen portraits; I look to confront socio-political issues apropos to the perception of various demographics as being of lesser human value. Specifically, with minority groups often being further marginalised by mainstream media, reflecting an archaic hierarchy of status emblematic of colonial ideologies. 

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Within my work, I strive to rectify the historic lack of visibility of figures from ethnic minority backgrounds. Therefore, questioning preconceived notions regarding what it means to be quintessentially British, as well as the uncomfortable nuances that are associated with this, is imperative for me. Though born in Southeast London, my drawings are often Informed by my Sierra Leonean and Lebanese heritage. By calling upon anecdotal references to portray scenes that are occasionally quasi-surrealist representations; my drawings look to confront lingering ethnocentrisms that are still embedded within modern western society. 

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Using antique texts & maps as the canvases for my drawings enables me to pragmatically re-contextualise ephemera, creating a cohesion between the concepts informing the work and the aesthetic output. As I empower various figures; I simultaneously do so with the ground used, presenting them within new contexts. Placing myself or family members as the subjects of my portraits evokes a sense of immediacy, apropos to navigating the intersection of my western upbringing and familial West African culture.

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By specialising in the use of a monochrome medium such as the black ballpoint pen to celebrate Blackness, allows me to somewhat paradoxically, show that there is more to an individual than just the colour of their skin. I employ delicate mark making techniques with precise strokes of the everyday ballpoint pen. Through an almost contradictory approach of using this relatively modern art medium with a classical approach - this process, influenced by sketches from the high renaissance, enables me to celebrate authentic drawing within the digital age. 

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I depict motifs that challenge largely accepted revisionist narratives apropos to West African Histories, with semblances of antiquated ideologies at the root of nuanced prejudices that I have experienced. Ultimately, my work looks to catalyse a discourse and embolden individuals that feel as though they have been labelled as the ‘other’ in any manifestation.