A day in the studio with: Selassie

A day in the Studio with Selassie, a Ghanan artist, who finished school in Germany, “trusts the tube” and paints colourful images, because he misses his home and generally tends to force himself to do stuff he likes. That can bemusic, painting, dancing and whatever else comes to his creative mind.

The first time I met Selassie I stumbled inside his studio during an open day at Mahalla, an art and culture space in Berlin. I wasn’t sure whether or not I should stay or leave again. Some people were drilling holes into the wall, others were adjusting lights. In between an abundance of beautiful paintings. If I had asked into the room who the artist was, Selassie would have told me to do what I want. Stay, ask, leave, whatever. He will do his thing anyway. Paint, or whatever comes to his mind.

Two years later I saw his work exhibited at Mahalla during Berlin Art Week (This time in the main hall) and would meet him again at another exhibition just a days later, where he was doing a live painting.
“Why is nobody talking to me?” he asked, stepping away from his painting momentarily. “Probably because they don’t want to disturb you,” I replied before moving on. It wasn’t much later when I asked him if he might be down to join our studio portrait series.

You can follow him on his socials or check join the EIA001 multiverse.