Selvin November

“It’s not realism I am aiming for, but rather to capture the essence of the image. My colours are vivid and expressive to communicate the mood and character of the people I paint.”

Since childhood, Selvin wanted to be an artist – a passion matched by his interest in people. Selvin focuses on portraiture and explores this genre using rich and inventive combinations of colour and textures to engage with issues around memory, personal identity and interpersonal relations. These memories are sourced from his experiences as a community creative worker as well as images captured within his community.

Drawing on techniques such as image cropping and tonal variation, Selvin refers to his style as Afro-Pop, and seeks to reduce an image to its bare essence.

Selvin chose a series of personal photographs and added some random text into their data coding. He then translated the abstract imagery in oil on 25 × 25 cm canvas blocks, of which he re-produced and re-interpreted around 25 pieces for the JAHRESGABE art program.