'The Painful Joy of Love' - Open Edition Print

Giclée Prints on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308gsm (smooth matt finish).
210 X 297 mm
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.