Introducing Ngadi Smart: Bridging Cultures Through Art
Ngadi Smart, a Sierra Leonean visual artist and designer, effortlessly straddles the creative landscapes of London, U.K, and Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Her diverse artistic practice encompasses illustration, photography, and design, with a particular focus on collage art.
In her illustration work, Ngadi finds inspiration in representing marginalized communities, shedding light on cultural identity, racial discrimination, and feminist themes. She fearlessly challenges society's conventional notions of "normalcy," "beauty," and "rightness." I love the vibrancy and energetic colour palette in her works.
In her photography, Ngadi documents cultures, social and environmental issues, and explores the intricacies of identity. Her recent works delve into portraying African sensuality and sexuality, offering a unique perspective rooted in the African experience and a commitment to showcasing diverse representations of African people.
In particular, I love Ngadi’s use of photo collage which enables her to layer images, concepts and contexts to create multi-dimensional imagery that brings contemporary issues to the forefront of her work.
I came across Ngadi Smart’s work while researching for the Seeing Me project. Her multi-layered approach to portraiture appealed to me as I was attempting to capture various sides of myself, not just one still image. I’ve always found digital artmaking to be rather sterile and unsatisfying but looking at Ngadi’s digital illustrations I think I just need to up my skill level! She’s inspired me to pick up my iPad and get back on Procreate.
Ngadi’s work sparks conversations on vital issues while celebrating the richness of her African heritage - that’s such a valuable underpinning to her practice and a vital driver for the artist to create work. Increasingly, I’m questioning what I’m making and why. On a planet that already has enough physical art to put at least one piece in every single home, working digitally makes sense, as does being absolutely clear on why I might decide to create another piece of “stuff” for the world to deal with.
Researching other artists and the ways they operate in the art world is a large part of my creative practice and I hope that the insights I offer in these Beyond Frida columns are of service to you too. As a community of artists, I believe it’s important we raise the voices of other women artists who share our passion for exploring the beauty and complexity of the world around us through art.
Until next time.
JC
Visit Ngadi Smart’s website HERE It’s an absolute riot of colour!
I enjoyed this article about Ngadi’s work created in response to Sierra Leone’s complex water crisis - click HERE
Loving the shortlisted photographers for the Contemporary African Photography Prize 2023: read about it in the Guardian HERE and see some of the work in the video below:
Missed a previous Beyond Frida? Find previous posts below:
Beyond Frida #1: Molly E. Brubaker
Beyond Frida #2: Paula do Prado