Mederic Turay  « Pangea « 

My travels have made my work better over the years, and they have helped me understand how complicated and simple life can be. I am especially interested in the early art from Africa and other parts of the world that art experts call « Primitive Art » in French.
Our early human relatives walked on many different places around the world. They created art using shapes and symbols that showed what they knew about themselves, their families, animals, and hunting, even before writing was invented.
This new body of work is driven by many ideas and methods.
I create art based on the sounds around me; my source of inspiration comes from within me before it reflects what’s outside.
I want to show my feelings while I’m creating because I want to discover all the meanings hidden in the canvas.
I often see images and ideas in my mind, and I feel the need to share them by creating stories in different ways.
As I often say, I don’t see myself as an artist. But going through the experience and the journey makes me feel strong emotions that feel very deep, almost like they’re physical.
It makes me feel like I fit in. It’s important because it lets you see how other people live.
Not everything is what it seems, and art encourages you to reconsider how you see reality and how someone else might see it differently. It makes you pay attention to what’s different. For example, I am inspired by totems, masks, and old spiritual statues that connect me to our human ancestors. My art is influenced by African stories and poems. I like the African saying that goes:  » The poor is not the one who has empty pockets, but the one who gives the soul the emptiness of desires.

Mederic Turay.