Drawing Inspiration from China

　　What message do you want to express in yourdesign of the certificate and the plate？

　　I used the flag and the emblem of African Union toshow the unity of 54 African countries， while the logoof the Golden Jubilee of OAU/AU is used to show thetheme of the celebration： Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance.In the design， one can also findthe signs and symbols for hope，unity， peace and development in theAfrican culture. The eight lozengeson both the left and right sides ofthe certificate are symbols of Africa’seight regional economic communities，demonstrating economicintegration.

　　The background of thecertificateis the AU headquarter conference center built by Chinesein Addis Ababa， Ethiopia’s capital.

　　I used this picture to showthegreat work that China has done inAfrica， because this is not the onlyone. Back in my country， China hashelped us build schools， hospitals，stadiums， and now Chinese arehelping us build roads.

　　When designing the certificate，I was thinking how to makepeople read it without explanation.Through several versions of editsand changes， I wanted to make mydesign more readable， comprehensible，and even attractive.

　　How do you integrate Chineseculture into your artwork？

　　In one of my paintings， I used theGreat Wall as the symbol of peace，which is an artistic reading of a fact.

　　The main reason the Great Wall wasbuilt was to [protect] China fromoutside attacks and to keep livesand land safe inside the wall. It bringspeace inside the land and saves lives.In my painting， it signifies preservingmy own culture from the invasion ofother so-called great cultures.

　　Another example is that I usedthe Chinese character，which means door， in my painting. What’s thesymbolic meaning behind the door？ My interpretationis： when one wants to get in or get out， onemust be right and correct. So I give the Chinese doorthe interpretation of “doing things in the right way，or being honest.” I made it abstract， and tried tokeep its symbolic meaning in my painting.

　　How can you integrate both African and Chineseculture in your artwork？

　　I was quite impressed by the ancient Chinese art of“face-changing” in Sichuan Opera. Chinese performerschange masks back and forth in the blink of an eye.Once， I integrated African masks with Chinese “facechanging”culture in my painting. I illustrated Africanmasks as emotion of human beings， the power of themind and the speed of thought. I paid special attentionto the transition from happiness to sadness. I took oneside of the mask from an African ethnic group and theother side of the mask from another group， and triedto mix them together in the painting. The beauty of thepainting resides in the middle. This idea comes fromChinese culture， the art of “face-changing.”

　　Has your style of painting been influenced byChinese culture？

　　When I started painting， I used more cold colors， butnow I use more bright and warm colors， for example，the red color. In my country， we have another view ofthe red color. We see red like blood， but once I cameto China， I saw that people like to wear or dress in red.When people get married， they are wearing red. Whenyou have celebrations， you see red there. Being surroundedby Chinese painters， seeing what Chinese doin their work， exchanging ideas with them， I graduallyunderstood that Chinese people believe red bringsgood luck. As an artist， you need to understand thesymbolic meaning behind (cultural traditions). Chineseculture has even influenced my personality. I think I amnot an angry man like I was before. I read more aboutTaoism and Confucianism， which gives me more innerpeace.