Drawing is Therapy!
“If I were to ask you who are without saying what you do, where you are
from, or the role you play in your life…what would you say?”
Shantell Martin had asked this question and how important art can be to guide us on this journey. Shantell uses drawing ‘as a medium to explore the interaction of social processes with physical spaces and as a tool to explore identity and intersectionality.’ In October 2021 I attended the official launch of Shantell Martin: Lines, the first monograph on London-born artist Shantell Martin. This event, hosted by the UAL Alumni of Colour Association (AoCA), celebrated the publication of the book, which profiles Shantell’s career so far. Shantell spoke about her practice and completed a live drawing on canvas (video at base of the page). The book explores Shantell’s work across drawing, performance, music, technology and fashion. Shantell’s collaborators have included Kendrick Lamar, Interview Magazine, the New York City Ballet, the British Film Institute, Google Creative Lab, Max Mara, Puma, Tiffany & Co and The North Face. I spoke with Shantell about her practice and inspiring people through art:
Shantell it was an inspiration to listen to your artistic journey at the
CSM Alumni event. When you asked us how many of us could draw, most of the room including me put our hands up! At what point in your life did you realise you had a gift in this area?
I’ve always drawn, so I’m not sure I’ve ever really thought about it as a “gift” but rather a tool. (A tool that we’re all given).
Although drawing is central to your work you have explored different
mediums, is there any tech that would still like to use?
I’m always interested in exploring mediums and tools that can help deepen and expand my work or the process of creativity.
The theme of ‘Who are you’ is a strong and consistent one in your work.
You have also described it as a ‘journey inside.’ How is this journey
going and how much of this is intsinctive?
The journey of self discovery always feels like an infinite line that I’m discovering as I open myself up to it. It’s both instinctive and not, which might sound contradictory but what I mean by that is that it’s a choice. A choice to uncover. One could just as easily resist the path and I actually think that’s where a lot of challenges come from that we face. You can feel when something is right. You can feel when something feels true. But sometimes it takes a bit of courage making the choice to choose that vs something else that isn’t quite right.
Having lived abroad in NYC and Tokyo, how much influence has being based in these places had on your work and outlook?
Living in Japan taught me a lot about patience and discipline and really embracing the process vs seeking the fulfillment of the “result”. New York really taught me how to think BIG and how to expand my work.
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There is an increasing effort for galleries and the art establishment to
recognise and acknowledge often marginalised artists including those of
the African diaspora and other cultures. How important is this to you
and what more can be done?
Of course it is important but it also needs to be authentic. If not authentic you won’t see a solid follow through. Good intentions are great but don’t make for change.
What have been the biggest challenges for you as an artist and are there
any challenges now?
Too many to count but what I’m learning is that challenges never go away, they just change. In the beginning you’re worrying about simply feeding yourself and paying your rent, then it becomes something else.
In your new book ‘Lines’ there is a quote that says ‘Pens have taken me
all around the world.’ Where are the places you have not been yet and would like to go? And why those places?
Iceland, it’s a place I’ve never been but it keeps coming up in conversations and sounds incredible. Brasil, I’ve always been fascinated by it and am really looking forward to one day visiting and creating work there.
