The Painful Joy of Love

297 X 420 mm, pencil drawing
 
This work was awarded 'The Young Artist Prize' at The Drawing Society 2021 exhibition at the Mall Galleries.
 
This self-portrait depicts the romanticised notion of the archetypal artist plagued with the ‘affliction’ of an apparently innate desire to pursue art. With the macabre image of a pencil penetrating the subject’s head, I look to convey the inner turmoil experienced during the tumultuous journey of becoming an artist.
 
The pages from the 1940s text Questions Of Our Day provide a direct means of contextualising the motifs surrounding this pursuit of career as a fulltime artist that I have chosen to devote my life to. This portrait shows a sense of vulnerability that is traditionally hidden in the presentation of young British men of African descent, such as myself. I hope that it can enable a discourse apropos to mental health to continue.