A JOURNEY HOME
A SOLO ART EXHIBITION BY MOHAMED FOFANA
ACT 1: A Journey to America
Many of the artworks during this period coincided with my arrival to America from Ivory Coast, West Africa in the early 2000's. I did not speak English at the time, and so I did not have many friends. I spent a lot of times letting my imagination roam free in solitude. Drawing was my way of making sense of the world I now lived in. My older sister, Mariame was really in tuned with pop culture and hip-hop culture and that influenced me a lot growing up. Drawing brought me joy and a sense of accomplishment.
ACT 2: A Journey to California
The rebirth. Moving to San Jose, California in 2016 was the best personal and professional decision I have made for myself thus far in life. It afforded me the luxury to ask and answer one vital question that has changed my life and that question was, “What do you want?” The answer was freedom to dream and imagine a world where anything is possible. From there came a series of artworks that helped to define my artistry and how I wanted to shape the world.
-
HatsByMo: This is the beginning of creating unique wearable art for myself and other people. As soon as I saw this “Nineties” dad hat at Forever 21 in 2017, I knew that I wanted to customize it and make it unique by painting some of my favorite 90’s and 2000’s cartoon characters on it. It was a hit anytime I wore it and people started to ask me for their own custom hats and thus came the creation of hatsbymo. I started to paint on anything I could get my hands on, hats, fanny packs, denim jackets and more.
Hats are $40. Email mfthebrand@gmail.com for purchase inquiries.
-
The Icons: These 5 entertainers were selected because of the global impact they have made on the world with their artistry and the endless inspiration and courage they have given me. They exemplify hard work and dedication. They constantly challenge themselves and the status quo while raising the proverbial bar. I chose to omit the facial features for two reasons. I had never painted using acrylic before, and I was afraid to mess up their faces. Capturing their silhouette alone was iconic and easy to recognize. Faceless also meant I could imagine myself as them and vicariously live through them.
Available for purchase ON ARTWORK AND SHOP PAGE.
Icons are: Beyoncé, Muhammad Ali, Grace Jones
Will Smith and Dj Jazzy Jeff, Serena Williams, Beyoncé
-
The Beauty Series: I have always been surrounded by strong women, and I tend to be attracted to them as well. With this series, I challenged myself to capture facial features by painting some of the most recognizable women in pop culture. I selected women with timeless beauty that go beyond the outer appearance. I found beauty in their fearlessness and pioneering spirit amongst many other reasons that inspired me to draw them and put them on hoodies that I could wear anytime and anywhere.
Available for purchase ON ARTWORK AND SHOP PAGE.
Beauties are: Sade, Naomi Campbell, Beyoncé, Rihanna and Nicki Minaj
-
Baddies and Mo: I loved something about each image and wanted to self-impose next to these women. As I related in the Beauty Series, I love capturing beautiful women with depth beyond their beauty. This series is an extension of the Beauty Series but a bit aspirational mixed with a lot of imagination that was a lot of fun to create.
Available for purchase ON ARTWORK AND SHOP PAGE.
Baddies are: Kelly Rowland, Ariana Grande, Solange Knowles, Ryan Destiny and Beyoncé
-
Self-Discovery Series: The images painted during this time were very freeing. I did not have to think too much as it seemed like the images found me and I just took them to the canvas.
Available for purchase ON ARTWORK AND SHOP PAGE.
Fofana Bros, Tupac, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Please Don't Touch The Art Suits Artwork, Deep Blue Ci(ara), Real friends with Rachelle Hill, Moonlight
-
My Body, My Rules: We bare our imperfections in hopes of deconstructing the illusion of perfection.
Available for purchase ON ARTWORK AND SHOP PAGE.
Bodies are: Jamie Lea and Mohamed Fofana
ACT 3: A Journey Home
The artworks here define me. Through all the experimentation came a realization that I want my art to mean something more than just portraits on the wall. I decided to dedicate my artistry to telling my story, the story of my community and discuss issues that are important to me.
-
MFTheBrand Meets SJ Sharks: My historical collaborations with the San Jose Sharks stemmed from wanting to make space for people of color in hockey. The Juneteenth artwork in 2020 and the Black History Month jersey design in 2021 were both firsts in Sharks history and allowed me to advocate for change internally and externally so that hockey is for everyone.
Available for purchase ON ARTWORK AND SHOP PAGE.
-
Support Black Art, always…: Basically, what it says.
Hand Painted Levi's Denim Jacket
Available for purchase ON ARTWORK AND SHOP PAGE.
-
G.O.A.T. Series 1: An Ode To The Female Athlete is aimed to highlight women in sports that have inspired me and many others around the world, pay homage to past pioneers, celebrate current legends, and inspire future generations. The series consists of 10 oil paintings of different sizes that took 6 months to complete. There were polls taken and many conversations with friends and supporters on their favorite female athletes for the selection in the series. There were so many amazing, talented women to select from and I chose the ones I connected strongly with that could help me amplify the message of supporting women and being an active ally. Our communities are better when we uplift and support the women in them. My hope with this series is that we embrace the diversity, the strength, the beauty, the vulnerability, and the humanity of all these female athletes and women in our lives.
Available for purchase ON ARTWORK AND SHOP PAGE.
-
Home: I turned my focus to the subjects I know best. The people that are there to uplift me when I am down, provide laughter when I am sad, give motivation when I lack inspiration and offer joy to my spirit. I was inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to paint friends and family to be seen in galleries and museums around the world. This is to honor them for simply being themselves and existing. A moment for each person to look at themselves in that revered light that we often hold for Caucasian people of affluent background. I want them and those who look like them to know they too are worthy and that their stories matter.
Available for purchase ON ARTWORK AND SHOP PAGE.
