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, conveying the inner turmoil experienced during the tumultuous journey of becoming an artist.
The pages from the 1940's text, Questions Of Our Day, provides a direct means of contextualising the surrounding motifs. This portrait shows a sense of vulnerability that is traditionally hidden in the presentation of young British men of African descent, such as myself.
This work is also the only pencil drawing that i have produced in 7 years.