Zelch doesn’t have much. He’s just a human creating. And he wants you to know that you can to. The 16 year old artist from Lagos, Nigeria works in a variety of different styles. He creates emotional, colorful collages, intricate drawings and much more. He tells us that poetry and fashion are also on his creative palette, making him one talented 16 year old that will surely be going places. His art truly speaks for itself, so check it out below. And be sure to read our interview with him that follows.
Select any photo above to open a gallery of Zelch’s art.
Describe your style in five words or less.
2018 Carlton Banks.
Describe your creative process. How do you start a new piece?
I sit down and gather my materials and I just do things on impulse. When I make mistakes I just add more to it and make it part of the piece because I hate restarting or wasting material.
What mediums do you use?
I normally work from my school art studio and then work in layers and layers. Acetate Coffee. Pins and needles. Photographs. Magazines. I don’t restrict myself as I try to get a bit of everything in there.
Who and what are your biggest influences?
[They’re] fairly common, being Kanye, Frank Ocean and Tyler the Creator. I religiously watch the anime film AKIRA every month to feel inspired and I read a lot of fashion and style magazines, as well as only West African literature.What does art mean to you?
This is cliché but art is everything. It makes life interesting and gives us things to talk about. I don’t know where my life would be without my art, but [it would be] much less enjoyable than now because people find it attractive [laughs]. Like, I don’t know – I find it attractive too.
Do you create in any other forms besides fine art and collages?
I write poetry and short stories. I work on fashion sometimes and do some styling. And I own a fish-eye camera that I just started to use [and] I’m trying to implement my photos in my art.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
[In] five years I’ll be 21. I think I see myself in a good school and making money and just living life to the best I can. Hopefully inspiring people to create and hopefully gone to CFG and to Tokyo and/or South Korea.What do you want people to know you for?
I want people to know me as a human, I think that’s the most important bit. That I’m just a human creating and anyone can do this shit too, because I don’t have clout or my own personal money. I don’t have much, I just like doing it for doing’s sake.
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