Interview by Arhantika Rebello
JOSHUA OBENG-BOATENG
Meet Joshua Obeng-Boateng, a 23 year old digital Pop Art Illustrator based in London, England.
Finding his inspiration in the works of Pop Art legends, Joshua’s work opts for simplicity when delving into the nuances of human emotion. The young artist’s spirituality is what fosters his responsibility to create, allowing him to express himself through the digital medium.
How did your journey with art begin?
My Art journey began at a very young age. I was a pretty imaginative child and used to love reading books and pretending to be the characters. Sometimes I'd write my own little stories and draw the characters that went along with it. I'd also watch a lot of TV and spend time drawing the cartoon characters I loved watching, like SpongeBob and Tom and Jerry. One show I owe a lot of my creativity to is Art Attack; that show taught me so many different techniques that I still use today. One that comes to mind is using bread as an eraser if you don't have one on hand.
What inspires you and the themes and subjects behind your work?
My work is inspired by the intellectual, emotional and spiritual truths of the world. Most of the themes depicted in my work are based on things I've learned and observed in life, but I use people and objects outside of myself as references as to make my pieces more relatable to everyone and not so personal. My style is inspired by Pop Artists such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, I love their use of colour and their ability to simplify big topics into one image.
What drives you to create?
I'm very religious. I believe that God has given me the ability and talent to create which. In turn, undertaking this responsibility is my way of showing my respect and gratefulness. Art has also always been an avenue to express myself in the best way possible. I used to be extremely shy as a kid, and found it hard to voice my point of view because I was worried that I couldn't articulate my thoughts well enough. I started finding this much easier when I started drawing, as I grew able to put forth my opinions in the form of images.
Colour is so expertly used in your art, where it perfectly compliments the feel of the piece. Can you talk us through any colour thought processes you might have?
I actually didn't really pay attention to colour in the beginning, I sort of just thought what I felt looked good. I'm now a lot more thoughtful and careful when it comes to my colour selections, because I understand colour as a great way of evoking particular emotions that your piece doesn't depict too explicitly. Or, colour can rely on the its connotations to make an emotion that you want to convey in your piece stronger. For example, red for anger or blue for sadness.
What advice do you have for other young creatives struggling with motivation to create?
I would say find out why you're creating in the first place, what your purpose for creating is and, once you've done that, put all your effort into fulfilling that purpose.
