We were lucky to catch up with Enam Bosokah recently and have shared our conversation below.
Enam, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Since I was a boy, I have always loved draw and to make art. While I am no different from other artists who create in order to fulfill a personal need, I delight in the processes that leads to the production of each piece that I make. These experiences are my drive.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Enam Bosokah is a Ghanaian portrait artist known for his expressive ink portraits. Originally trained as sculptor, Enam mostly works in ink and has only in recent times begun incorporating resin with found plastic objects into his practice. Born in 1987, in the Volta Region of Ghana, he received his BFA degree at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana.
I started off with sculpture but quickly learned that drawing is a little less expensive for a young graduate starting off his art career. So, I resorted to; drawing, my first love.
Growing up as a young kid in Africa, I have had to deal with my fair share of the negative notions of blackness among fellow countrymen hence decided to use my drawings as a means to inspire my people. This led to the production of several portraits featuring black subjects who have led exemplary lives worth emulating.
The pen fits as a perfect tool to record the larger-than-life personas of these distinct black individuals and to immortalize them.
My recent body of works touches on my country’s share of the global plastic waste menace. Recent statistics indicate that just 2% of the total plastic waste generated in my country is recycled while the remaining percentages end up in the ocean and landfills. Meanwhile government has no regulatory solutions for the problem and has been adamant on the option to ban plastic use. I make portrait drawings of kids wrapped in polythene sheets (one of the most commonly used plastic product in my country. The wraps seem to give a wearer a sense of protection but at the same time, generates heat which makes them uncomfortable.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Social media and the ability to use it has been instrumental in my journey so far. Secondly, consistency is key. It is one thing to set out to make a good product, but it takes much effort to keep making a good product. Lastly, passion. You have to love what you do to keep doing it.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me was allow me to choose what career I wanted to pursue.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: boski_pens
- Facebook: Enam Bosokah
- Other: [email protected]
Image Credits
Enam Bosokah
