Chidy Wayne's creative process is a unique journey that unfolds within his Barcelona studio. Join us as we delve into a typical day with the Spanish-Guinean multidisciplinary artist.
Pith Stories: Sharing the extraordinary lives, inspirations and knowledge of the people who bring our Sketchbooks and Notebooks to life.
CONVERSATION WITH
Liam Goward (Pith Co-founder)
READ TIME
4 MINS
FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHY
WATCH TIME
5:14 MINS
Chidy Wayne (Spain, 1981) is a Spanish-Guinean artist based in Barcelona. He expresses himself through a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, illustration, and music. Seeking to create work that is aesthetic and conceptual, the superfluous is put aside to enter more deeply into the drawing, creating a minimalist and gestural work of art.
Wayne creates a personal code of signs and motifs of great symbolic significance. His drawings, the result of long philosophical reflection, are created using quick, bold strokes. They present universal and timeless themes such as existence, identity, and internal conflict.
Chidy Wayne’s art is a rich tapestry of influences. From the artistic avant-garde to ancestral and cultural elements, his drawings bear a certain primitive character. Yet, his style incorporates urban art and contemporary forms, creating a unique blend of influences.
“I like to rationalise my feelings and these questions. This is actually what I'm showing in my paintings: the hands looking for my own identity or the identity of the one who's looking at the painting, the hand acting as a mirror.”
Liam Goward: We are currently sitting in your studio in Barcelona; how did you find yourself here?
Chidy Wayne: I started my career as an illustrator, and my studio was in a small room in my previous apartment. Once I grew up artistically, I realised I needed more space to create. My studio is a vital part of my creative process. It is part of me; it's an extension of me.
LG: Has creation always been a part of your being?
CW: To create is what makes me happy. Even when I built my tables for this studio, creating something from scratch is what drives me.
LG: Where are your favourite places to go to spark creativity?
CW: Museums and my book collection
“When I'm creatively blocked, for me, what works is to go back to my artistic fathers, my books, to the people that I admire, or going to museums to see the actual pieces, that really ignites not only my creativity, but my will to keep doing it.”
LG: Do you draw inspiration from your location?
CW: Not really, as my themes are universal questions.
LG: A constant in your work is your study of hands. How did that begin, and can you tell us what that means to you?
CW: I see hands as the ultimate mirror. When I look at mine, I can see my reflection. Those hands are portraits.
LG: Do you pre-determine what a sketch may become? When you sit down to draw, are you specifically focusing on a sculpture, for example?
CW: My goal is to be able to reproduce my sketches in different forms and shapes in an organic way. A sketch can turn into a sculpture or a big format painting, or a song. But I always start with sketches.
LG: What materials do you use in your sketchbooks?
CW: Classic Conte crayons, mostly.
LG: You just released your first book in collaboration with CREATIVE VOYAGE. Can you tell us about that?
CW: That’s the first monograph about my work. I cannot be happier about it. I think the book just got a design award. Mario from Creative Voyage is just great.
Head over to chidywayne.com to delve deeper into Chidy’s world.
THANK YOU
Chidy, thank you for opening your study and sketchbooks for us and being so generous with your time.
Lola Stammberger (Filmmaker): Thank you for bringing this story to life.
Pith stories: Sharing the extraordinary lives, inspirations and knowledge of the people who bring our books to life.
Chidy uses the Pith® Oroblanco Sketchbook