Fatou Bessem
Atlanta, GA
Social Media
Instagram
How would you describe your work?
I utilize different artistic mediums to explore my evolving relationship to blackness, femininity, and gender. My oil paintings depict different portraits, landscapes, and abstract bodies that call onto my Afrosurrealist worldview while using film, media, and photography to expand the fantastical world I’m creating - all of these forms allows me to speak on the all encompassing experience of black womanhood, especially in regards to the inherent objectification, performance, and oppression that comes within a dark skinned, black, female body.
What inspires you?
The experiences I gain through life are the main inspirations of my art. I like to be introspective and gain insight on the things I go through, seeing as they all stem from a certain bias we as people inherently have - I then analyze said experiences. Questioning things tends to be a way for me to get that creative spark, so I have fun being a little curious.
Can you speak about your process?
I would say my process is quite simple. I get an idea, brainstorm, sketch, and paint. My painting process follows the traditional oil technique - layering from thin to thick and working on multiple works at a time.
How did you become interested in art?
I’ve always been interested in art - I’ve been drawing and painting since I was literate. There is not a single time in my life I was not creating something. My mom knows, considering I made a mess of the house for my entire childhood. So I wouldn’t say I became interested, more so that I found different mediums that helped me channel the interest I had innately.
Do you have any favorite artists, movies, books, or quotes?
My favorite artists are Naudline Pierre, Danielle Deadwyler, and Doreen Garner. They are all Black Women who engage in art in a very fantastical, sometimes gruesome way. They also center around Blackness in some way shape or form, so I find myself relating to their work or being inspired by it. Additionally, I enjoy films, particularly feminist films that speak on womanhood and the ironic rules of gender and how comical it can all be. Recently, my favorite movies have been: Pearl (2022), Poor Things (2023), and The Substance (2024). As for books, I like spiritual or race/gender critical books. Be Here Now by Ram Dass, and communion: The Female Search for Love, by Bell Hooks are personal favorites.
What advice do you have for younger artists?
I don’t have much advice, other than to continue creating, regardless of people’s outside opinions. It is true what older people say - that it gets harder to continue as you get older (which, I’m only 25, so of course I am still quite young); you gain more responsibilities, have less free time, and feel more burnt out, especially in this day and age. Just continue trying and putting your creative muscle to work.
Any more thoughts about art, creativity, or anything else you would like to share?
I like to tell people that creativity to me, is almost like a sixth sense. To lose any of your senses would be devastating and life changing. Losing my creativity would cause me a lot of hurt, so I try to nourish my creativity as much as I do my body and mind. It is as important to my health as any other part of me.
“WATCH” Performance Video
Co-Directed by Yaa Kwayana & Sierra Bonet
https://vimeo.com/939576431/c27ce9a4b2
