Lynette Yiadom-Boakye

Lynette Yiadom-Boakye was born in 1977 in London (GB), she lives and works in London (GB).

“My work refers to the tradition of European portraiture. The nature of the medium and the way it must be worked feeds my work and generates my ideas. It is important that the subject or theme emerges from the act of painting itself, that not everything is already acquired or planned. I find that painting is really a difficult thing, but I think it is this difficulty that is the catalyst. I am beginning to grasp the way to access a certain strength in the paintings. I try to develop a sensitivity that involves beauty. The beauty I speak of is neither passive nor gentle. I think of otherness but not in terms of primary celebration. I do not see my work as proselytizing. None of these figures are heroes or victims. I try to bring them to life without cruelty or gratuitous fascination. I like the idea that they simply exist.” — Lynette Yiadom-Boakye