Artist Amartey Golding's exhibition opens

London-based artist Amartey Golding’s recent exhibition at Showcase Gallery in Dubai, Thorns have Roses, is a daring exploration of cultural identity and social conditioning interpreted through beautifully detailed and somewhat edgy portraits done in charcoal as well as mixed media on canvas. We caught up with the 23-year-old on his whirlwind trip to the emirate to unveil the exhibition.

I don’t see myself as being… an artist as such. It was more a case of realising that I could not fit into the system of nine to five’s. I felt I was more inclined to follow my passions of creative ventures across the board in many different areas including painting, drawing, architecture, sculpture, photography and street art.

Art is… not to be defined!

Being free... and passionate when you are young is one of the best things for your self development and exploration.

I’d like to meet… all my ancestors; the people who contributed to my genetic make-up. It would intrigue me to see all the features and characteristics that made me who I am today.

If I could do a portrait of anyone I’d… draw Robert Mugabe. He is one of the few people in the world that I cannot figure out. When I do portraits of people I go through a process that helps me understand the person through conversation. It would help me put some context to his face and aid me to figure out the reasons for some of the decisions he has made in his life. I would then take the answers to what I find out and express them through the actual portrait.

My favourite medium is… passion and enthusiasm. If I don’t have that then whatever physical medium I use does not work.

Colour is… not always necessary. Much of my work is black and white and colour is just one of many tools an artist can use to achieve his goal.

The most beautiful piece of art I’ve ever seen was… my little sister’s sketchbook.

My most recent exhibition is… Thorns have Roses at Showcase Gallery until May 19, 2011.