Aug 18, 2021
George "Fowokan" Kelly
George and I talk about Art, Music, Jamaica, Africa its spiritual traditions and how it influences Georges work and music and art in general. Great chat with an elder and artist. George "Fowokan" Kelly is a Jamaican-born visual artist who lives in Britain and exhibits using the name "Fowokan" (a Yoruba word meaning: "one who creates with the hand"). He is a largely self-taught artist, who has been practising sculpture since 1980. His work is full of the ambivalence he sees in the deep-rooted spiritual and mental conflict between the African and the European. Fowokan's work is rooted in the traditions of pre-colonial Africa and ancient Egypt rather than the Greco-Roman art of the west. He has also been a jeweller, essayist, poet and musician (a former member of the funk group Cymande in the early 1970s). He decided to become an artist while on a visit to Benin, Nigeria, in the mid-1970s. The philosophical aspect of his oeuvre came with his travels through various parts of Africa, exploring the spiritual side of his ancestral home. He believes the intuitive/spiritual aspect of reality that still abounds in Africa was his art school and university. Check out George’s work, it is wonderful http://www.fowokan.com/ To support the podcast and get access to features about guitar playing and song writing visit https://www.patreon.com/vichyland and also news for all the creative music that we do at Bluescamp UK and France visit www.bluescampuk.co.uk For details of the Ikaro music charity visit www.ikaromusic.com Big thanks to Josh Ferrara for the music