SERRELL TAFARI

About Me

I am a 20 year old artist based in Birmingham, with a passion for stories and learning. I’ve always loved immersing myself in various forms of creativity as a way of expressing narratives, drawing upon fantasy or reality. I believe the stories in our lives shape how we view the world, and so my dream is to create art which can spark minds and inspire.

My art

2020

2021

2022

MY nomad PROJECTS

THIS IS Where my love for character design and CLAY-MAKING comes together with TECHNOLOGY.

MY GRANDMOTHER

2022.

MY CLAY WORK

FOR MY FINAL YEAR PROJECT ‘PHASE TWO’ I DECIDED TO WORK WITH CLAY FOR THE FIRST TIME, yet I UNEXPECTEDLY DISCOVERED a HUGE PASSION FOR SCULPTING both physically and digitally.

WHO I AM Is AMORPHOUS, BUT WITH CLAY I CAN MAKE ANYTHING, BE ANYTHING, AND THIS IS WHAT i MADE.

MINI SCULPTURES

EXHIBITION

CLAY PROCESS

DIGITAL EXPERIMENTATION (NOMAD SCULPT)

THEME : ORIGINS

DRAWINGS ABOUT MY FAMILY

IDEATION

SOME INITIAL ETCHINGS

DOCUMENTED PROCESS

PENCIL

COLLAGE

ACRYLIC

END

THEME : GROWTH AND DECAY

OBSERVATIONAL DRAWINGS

FINE-LINER PEN

INK

PENCIL

RESEARCH AND PRACTICE WITH COMPOSITION

RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTATION WITH ETCHING

RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTATION WITH COLLAGE

PHOTOGRAPHY

FINAL OUTCOME

2020

AFTER EXPERIMENTING WITH COMPOSITIONS, ETCHING, AND DIGITAL COLLAGE THROUGHOUT MY PROJECT, I ENDED UP WITH THIS FINAL OUTCOME WHICH COMBINES ALL THREE ASPECTS. I MADE AROUND 15 VARIATIONS OF THIS a3 etching, BUT THIS ONE IS MY MOST FAVORITE AND STRONGEST.

my GCSE work

THEME : HORROR

RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS

ELISA ANCORI

FERNANDO VICENTE

FERNANDO VICENTE POINTILISM STUDY

Pasión Invernal

MY PHOTOGRAPHY

INITIAL PIECES

14x11cm drawing 2019.

12x12cm drawing 2019.

’Succubus’- A4 pencil drawing (this is my favourite mock piece) 2019.

finaL TRYPTICH

OUROBOROS

20X20

DUE TO COVID OUR GCSE’S WERE CANCELLED, BUT I REALLY LOVED THIS THEME AND SO I CONTINUED WORKING ON IT DURING LOCKDOWN.

OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES

DEVELOPMENT PIECE

IDEATION AND PROCESS

WHITE BOARD

PROCREATE

POETRY

MY GRANDPARENTS

drawings

My sister embodied as the goddess kali, severing my ego.

life drawings

GROUP LIFE DRAWING SESSIONS 2023

sketches

bodies

sensory sketches

CHARACTERs

PERSONAL STATEMENT

The driving inspiration for me as an individual is family and helping others. Growing up in a family of artists, I watched my mother with physical disabilities find refuge in painting, whereas my brother with special needs found education through drawing. Seeing their journey motivates me to follow mine. In turn, this sparked my vision of connecting with people, and helping them find empowerment through the universal language of art.

Reading and self-studying out of curiosity has enriched my understanding of different cultures, as well as my own roots. Being a child of immigrant parents who fled war, our personal hardships fuelled a keen interest in identity which often speaks through my art; wondering 'Who are we, and how did we get to this point?'. Meanwhile my love for animation, manga and film exposed me to so many unique narratives, characters and aesthetics which reflect our human complexity; especially the works of creative minds of studios such as Laika, Ghibli and Manglobe. Inspired by all these things, throughout my teenage years I developed a passion for sketching imaginary characters and stories almost every day, drawing upon influences from across the globe or around me. By making comics I can breathe life into those characters on paper, and in doing so my artistic style and anatomical knowledge consistently evolves through practice.

Studying advanced A Level Fine Art and Design starting in 2020 expanded my abilities and confidence as a creative thinker. I developed versatility, having experimented with completely new mediums such as oil painting, etching, clay and digital sculpting. Refining these skills to materialize my own vision and responding to live briefs pushed me to step beyond my comfort zone to take risks. I also discovered that working alongside other young creatives who share a similar passion majorly contributes to my work ethic, and provides an engaging environment where I can thrive the most. Outside art studies, AS Philosophy encouraged me to delve intellectually deeper into artwork, for it is a subject which stretches the mind, developing my interpersonal skills such as critical thinking, empathy, impartiality and introspection. I translated this interdisciplinary learning into publicly exhibiting my work for the first time, which required effective planning to create a unique and immersive viewer experience. In the end I was awarded the ''Certificate of Excellence' for an outstanding body of work' and was offered a workshop opportunity by Pathcarvers, a woodcarving company.

My gap year after college has been a chance to gain some entrepreneurial experiences through travelling and networking. Over the year I built my own website portfolio alongside my Instagram and LinkedIn platform for freelancing work that mainly consists of character illustration, digital design and custom clothing. This requires initiative and has significantly improved my digital design skills; via 3D modelling and rendering using various software ranging from Procreate, Nomad and Blender. Merging the academic paths of the Arts with my own experiences allows me to offer a unique perspective, yet I want the opportunity to learn and professionally work with different people at a higher level.

Therefore, continuing further studies in the Arts will help me explore the greater unknowns and expose me to multidisciplinary environments. It's exciting to think how much I can grow at university doing what I love; to turn my theoretical knowledge into practical, and develop the collaborative skills that are essential to work in the wider creative industry. I look forward to learning from academic staff and their experiences alongside industry professionals, to cultivate a wide breadth of knowledge and skill, that can bring ambitions to reality.