​FEATURE 3: 60 SECOND INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST, YAW MANTE
" ...I got my first water colour when I was 6 years old..."
When did you start painting?
I used to paint as a kid. I got my first ever watercolour set when I was 6 years old. Following that, I received a watercolour set in subsequent birthdays. I did however have a hiatus from painting in secondary school.
Why did you stop in secondary school?
There was no real reason. It just sort of happened. I did resume however again when I was in university as Yale. A friend who was organizing an exhibition got me into it and I decided to get involved and submit some works.
What work did you first submit?
A collage. I drew the outline and then proceeded to fill in the blanks with found paper. When you looked at it from afar, it looked like a painting.
Sounds like you where hooked from that point?
Sort of. I loved the idea of expressing an idea. The way I could paint something and it evokes something in others, sometimes they ‘get it’ and sometimes they take away a separate meaning.
What’s your process like?
I like to draw in sets. The last set I did was Bevy in Red, was about women. That said, I wouldn't necessarily call myself a mature artist.
Oh really, how did that go? Drawing women that is...Is there a muse?
Pretty well but muse? No.
Would you consider your work as African art?
I don’t necessarily think you can infer that from my work. I just love to create without any sort of boundaries.