Benjamin Asante

Pictures from “This is us”, Benjamin’s latest body of work

Me & my art

I am Asante Benjamin, an artist who specializes in figurative arts. My love for art is extraordinary. I have been into art since my childhood, when I used sketches to narrate scenes from animations. Thus, I’d say my work as an artist is passion driven.

This is us

My series ‘This Is Us’ draws attention to the negative notions which the society I live in has about people who have a unique way of expressing themselves through fashion. Where I live they’re often misjudged as weird, indecent, radical, loud and crazy and unfortunately, their personal and professional worth is measured by these parameters set by society. My body of work challenges these existing beliefs and perceptions that people who wear frayed or tattered clothing, multiple piercings, or vibrant and multicoloured hairstyles, are a negative influence. As someone who likes to perceive things positively, I personally see these people’s expressions as fashion and I think that they should be judged based on their character.

My creative process & inspiration

I’m inspired by the world of fashion and music where people tend to be innovative about how to appear physically. I commence my works by sourcing pictures on the internet and via friends. Then I sketch and start to paint, later my partner does the collage of the crochet threads (yarn) for the costume of the subject and the braids. Once that’s done, we start to work on the background and foreground. It takes me approximately 4 days to complete an art work and the content of my paintings determines the size I would choose for each work.

I deem it a privilege to have such a skill: when I have the brush in hand it sparks some joy in my heart which then reflects on the canvas as a work of art.

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