Aṣẹ had the pleasure of speaking to Ghanaian artist Kelvin Frimpong on his biggest inspirations and why colour is so important to him in creating. 

You  mentioned growing up in Accra, do you think moving to the UK transformed the way you create art?

Growing up in Accra had a massive part to play in the way I see art, as my grandmother was a bit of an artist herself she pushed me to access my creativity a lot but I did not have the resources to pursue art in Ghana but moving to the UK provided me with the resources to start creating art.

What was the inspiration behind 'Judged by 12"?

The inspiration 'behind judged by 12' was from a quote I read in a book "Summum bonum" which means greatest good.  The book states that (The soul of man if liberated from its bodily fetters, could enable him to become godlike and see the Gods in this life and attain beatific vision) which is the greatest good.

I was also very inspired by the idea of astral projection and the chakras which all came to me through various readings. I am also heavily inspired by African spirituality which I have made very obvious in the painting through the use of the Akan Adinkra symbols.

Your work is very confident with colour why is that so?

The colour in my art comes from my love of vibrant and loud colours that grab the attention of the viewer and my obsession with abstract art.