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MEET THE ARTISTSisi-Cynthia Ingenere

Make the story one you feel needs to be heard, as that is the purpose of art.

It becomes a voice for the voiceless.

What motivated you to produce your artwork?

I was motivated by the political climax at the time. Television was propagating African youth and criminalising them with African gangs, despite stories lacking fact and spreading fear. I wanted to speak to and for my fellow migrants who in the commotion would be affected by this representation.

Did your initial idea change during the art making process?

Initially I did not plan to make my work a triptych. I wanted to focus on scale in order to enhance its emotional impact. My art teachers educated me on how dimension could have a greater impact as it’s multidimensionality would create a sense of completeness to the story. They introduced me to the impact of shape and form and its symbolic nature, and the result was my Afro-Futurist piece.

If you were to choose one artist that had the greatest influence on your piece, who would it be and why?

I was influenced by many, but the most impactful one was American designer Virgil Abloh, whose parents are Ghanaian migrants. He is the Creative Director of Louis Vuitton’s men’s wear, and owner of Milan-based street fashion label Off-White. I was inspired by the way he brought about a culture that I identified with as an African youth, into

a space that associated it with hoodlums and outcasts, creating a new era of fashion now known as superfuture; making ancient and elite fashion labels adhere to its design aesthetic.

How did you decide on your choice of materials?

I had always been a painter and wanted my final piece to be different. I was finally granted the freedom to create work that I wanted to see. There was Perspex laying around the classroom and this inspired a string of ideas as it was so versatile and narrational. Printing and silk-screening was something I became intrigued with after my Year 11 piece where I printed some skulls on a canvas. I liked how fun the process was; printing it, scaling it, testing it and overlaying it. I felt in control. It wasn’t as

tedious as oil painting and as frustrating as acrylics. It dried faster and denoted the idea of modernism, which I liked. I had always been creating work on my iPad and I felt as though the layering of the Perspex reflected my art style.

What advice would you give future Art students who are keen to exhibit their work in shows like Pulse Perspectives? What advice do you have for teachers?

Advice that I would give students that wish to exhibit is be unapologetic, unafraid and unashamed. Create work that is personal to you, dig deeper within yourself and tell a story. Make the story one you feel needs to be heard, as that is the purpose of art. It becomes a voice for the voiceless.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Sisi-Cynthia Ingenere Soul searching 2019. Corpus Christi College.

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Learn more about Virgil Abloh

Take a look at fashion label Off-White

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MEET THE ARTISTSisi-Cynthia IngenereABOUT THE ARTS

Why is art and creativity important at times of uncertainty and change?

The reason why art and creativity are so important in uncertain and changing times is because it becomes a bookmark. It becomes a beauty scar, it informs, it releases, and it heals. It gives hope to people who feel burdened by the uncertainty and it encourages joy.

Every great social movement brought great artists, proving that pressure only produces diamonds.

In what ways do you think art influences how you feel about yourself, and how you connect to others?

Art is a mirror for me. It helps me understand what is going on within me and because it forces me to see me, I can therefore see others.

I can connect with them as they are humans with emotions, a spirit and a heart. Art enables me to express my vulnerability and it definitely frees me. It gives me confidence in creating. It feels as if I’m living my purpose every time I create any form of art.

What career path are you embarking on, and has The Arts impacted your choice?

I am currently doing a Bachelor of Design at an institute in Melbourne. Aside from that, I have a small business known as CYNSIC where I do various art projects collaborating with musicians, artists and designers.

I identify myself as a designer, a creative, and feel that the qualification isn’t what gifts me that title but the fact that this is my purpose.

The Arts have definitely influenced me. Writers, musicians, painters and designers have shaped my world and even my Christian beliefs which paint God to be a creative, designing the world and every little detail in it.

What do you feel young people need from AGWA at this time of rapid change while galleries are physically closed?

I feel that in this time of uncertainty and fear AGWA can bring joy and hope. As

they celebrate youth they promote that there is in fact a future for us, that there is nothing to be afraid of.

Is there a song, book, memory, feeling, artist or state of mind that inspires your practice that might support other artists to create at home?

I believe we all have the gift of creativity; many may argue they don’t, but the human tongue has the ability to build and destroy, so does the hands and the mind.

If we collaborate all three of those things, who and what could really stop us? There is so much in each and every one of us; we house bits of the universe in us.

As we are in isolation, we have been gifted a chance to slow down, to

listen to what our bodies desire; a peace of mind? Rest? The most natural thing for a human is to create, whether it’s an atmosphere, a meal, a dance, a song, a novel. Just know you can, and the reason you can is because it is your nature.

It feels as if I’m living my purpose every time I create any form of art.

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MEET THE ARTISTSisi-Cynthia Ingenere

Soul searching Mixed media.

Soul searching is a multi-layered sculpture which explores my African identity in all its facets: a teenage girl part of a diaspora who longs to reconnect with her homeland.

I reference Afro-Futurism, a contemporary African art style, with the use of vibrant lights, paying homage to the 1970s disco age. This was an empowering time for the international and pan-African identity as it embraced heritage and history, from the USA to France to continental Africa. One way of doing this was by returning to the cultural roots signified by the Afro hairstyle.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Sisi-Cynthia Ingenere Soul searching 2019. Corpus Christi College.

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Sisi-Cynthia Ingenere Soul searching 2019. Corpus Christi College.

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Process image (1) accompanying Sisi-Cynthia Ingenere Soul searching 2019. Corpus Christi College.

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Process image (2) accompanying Sisi-Cynthia Ingenere Soul searching 2019. Corpus Christi College.

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Process image (3) accompanying Sisi-Cynthia Ingenere Soul searching 2019. Corpus Christi College.

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Process image (4) accompanying Sisi-Cynthia Ingenere Soul searching 2019. Corpus Christi College. Rotate 90O to view.

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Process image (5) accompanying Sisi-Cynthia Ingenere Soul searching 2019. Corpus Christi College.

Art connects us with ourselves,each other, and the world.

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