A selection of recent work by East London-based artist Shaqúelle Whyte. Using his painting practice to explore his thoughts and feelings, Whyte directs his subjects as if they were actors and the canvas the stage, crafting narratives that, though not self-portraits, reflect his life and experiences. This process allows him to tell stories in a much more abstracted way—offering just enough information to suggest a story, while leaving plenty of room for interpretation.
As his body of work grows, Whyte has been leaning more into the surreal, using the physicality of paint as a central element. “The differentiation between the thickness of paint, the inherent texture that comes from it allows for me to further push what it is that I can do,” he explains. “In the pursuit of this, oil pastel has become a feature in my work. It has allowed me to bring back elements of drawing into my work. Oil pastel weaves in and out of the oil paint which frees up the process of how I represent elements of the figure and scene that I’m trying to create.”
