• Q: When visiting your studio, I observed the presence of many books of different genres, including poetry books. Would you say that literature and poetry are the source of inspiration for your artistic practice?
    A: Poetry is the essence of my being—the foundation of my creative life. The written word is not just a tool of expression but an integral part of how I exist in the world. As a teenager growing up in Clermont, I found solace in the works of Mongane Serote, Sipho Sepamla, Nikki Giovanni, and Langston Hughes. Their words not only reflected my reality but also illuminated a path beyond the shadows of Plato’s proverbial cave, inspiring my own emergence. My creative process is, in itself, a poetic performance. I begin each canvas with movement—dance, chants, stomping, and prayer—before marking it with spiritual symbols, guided by the rhythms of jazz and other ancestral sounds. In this way, my art becomes an extension of poetry, a ritual of becoming.
     
    Q: I read that jazz directs your creative process. Can you elaborate on this?

    A: Jazz is more than music—it is a testament to the art of spiritual survival, a sermon that serves as a breath of renewal. It is the healer’s call to deep self-contemplation, a rhythm that stitches the soul back together. Its neurological resonance is a balm to the wounded healer within me, a sacred garment woven from a million sounds, draped over the silent utterances exchanged between spirit and the eternal quest—the quest for enlightenment.

     
  • Q: There are series within your oeuvre that are steeped in African culture, particularly that of the Yoruba people and...
    Q: There are series within your oeuvre that are steeped in African culture, particularly that of the Yoruba people and Egyptian hieroglyphics. What intrigues you about these cultures? 
     
    A: The rich symbolism, spirituality, and storytelling traditions of African cultures have deeply influenced my work. The Yoruba and African, in particular, have a profound way of encoding wisdom, memory, and history into their visual and oral traditions.

    Q: Your work is largely rooted in abstraction, which is a difficult genre to interpret. What would you say is your subject matter?

    A: Abstraction, like poetry, is the soul made visible—a gesture of expression that seeks to illuminate and invite us into the experience of being and becoming. It is an unfiltered outpouring of ideas, a creative madness akin to what Emily Dickinson describes as divine frenzy. In its fluid language, abstraction transcends the limits of definition, offering not just an artistic form but a revelation. As my mentor often said, the act of painting is not merely about what one creates; it is about the illumination that emerges, the way it reveals and transforms, drawing us ever closer to the essence of our own becoming.
     
  • Q: Many of your artworks use impasto, that is the thick layering of paint on canvas. Can you say why you have chosen this technique?
     
    A: My work is a conversation between time, movement, and memory. The layered surfaces of my canvases hold the traces of human traffic—imprints left behind, forming intricate patterns from the accumulated debris of process and presence. Over time, these markings evolve into structured compositions, each layer contributing to an unspoken narrative. Some of my pieces emerge as a conscious act of writing poetry—words upon words, inscribed over one another, merging and dissolving into a textured, unreadable language. In this erasure, meaning is not lost but deepened, inviting the viewer to engage with the work beyond the literal, to feel rather than to read, to perceive rather than simply see.
     
  • Q: I read that you are influenced by the works of Sfiso KaMkame and Thami Jali, both of whom you...
    Q: I read that you are influenced by the works of Sfiso KaMkame and Thami Jali, both of whom you spent time in the studio with. Are there any other artists that inspire you?
     
    A: Sfiso kaMkame and Thami Jali were, and continue to be, the giants upon whose shoulders I stand. While my literary explorations and travels have deeply enriched my perspective, it was their artistic influence that laid the foundation for my journey. However, beyond books and distant lands, it is through my interactions with the great Thami Jali that I encountered a force of creative conviction. He, like Sfiso, embodied a raw and profound artistry—one that seamlessly wove history, emotion, and spirit into the very fabric of his work. He remains a towering figure in my generation of painters.