In Conversation With... Our New Artist Prince Cartiee
In the series ‘In Conversation With…’ Elliott Gallery asks the photographers—represented by the gallery—about their work, inspiration and future plans.
Another recent addition to the gallery is the beautiful work by Prince Cartiee. Prince Cartiee (1996) is a visual artist living and working in Accra, Ghana, whose work consists mainly of colourful compositions and interesting visual juxtapositions. Here, he is giving us an insight into his inspiration, process and purpose.
1. Where do you draw inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from where I’m from. From kids going to school in different colour uniforms, to the public buses, colourful houses and structures and mostly people in different fabrics moving around to make ‘ends meet’. It is something that you will notice once you are in the motherland.
This helps me in the whole exploration of my subjects and colour theory.
2. Is there a story you want to narrate through your work or are you looking at purely aesthetic result?
Aesthetic, I just want to depict my ideas and notion in Afro Surrealism. The narrative is already there, I am just being a part of the journey.
3. Your work seems to focus a lot on colours and contrast, beautifully mixed with cultural elements. What’s the process you follow in order to achieve these compositions?
My thought process is to try as much as possible to make elements of my vibrant culture an important part of my work.
The idea is to achieve a colourful background or an aesthetically pleasing environment for each subject and by doing that, every composition seems to fall into place like magic.
4. How do you feel about being represented by a European Photography Gallery, at such a young age? What would you like to achieve in the future?
For me it is one of the greatest highlights of my career and I personally don’t feel I am at my peak. It helps making my works noticeable across the continent and lets people have a whole new look at it, rather than just seeing it online. I hope to have my own exhibition at some point.
5. What’s the biggest challenge you came across as a young student and artist, trying to launch your career in Ghana?
In the beginning it was hard to let my people understand me in the pursuit of being an artist, as the aspiration of this society is for you to become a doctor, engineer or basically have a steady 9 to 5 job. As of now, I can say that the creative scene has got a bit of attention and I’m hoping parents can motivate their wards that they can do anything they want...
Interviewed by Eirini Alexandrou (Elliott Gallery) April 2021
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