INTERVIEW with Minkah Amen-Ra
Carmela Loiacono talks with Minkah Amen-Ra who takes part in the International Art Exhibition STORIES OF IDENTITY – The 2nd Edition in Matera, at cultural hypogeum Lega Navale Italiana Matera-Magna Grecia.

Carmela Loiacono – Please introduce yourself and talk about the selected works: “The Movement” and “Identified” presented during the exhibition STORIES OF IDENTITY – The 2nd Edition. 
Minkah Amen-Ra – My name is Minkah Amen-Ra and I am a self-taught artist based in Kingston, Jamaica. “Identified” is a personal piece that is unlike my other works. It is a physical representation of the cathartic release I experienced during some self-therapy. It relates to my personal struggle growing up with a radical pan-Africanist, idealist parent while living in a colonial-retentive country like Jamaica.The overt identity confusion displayed appears political, but at the core it is the confusion and lack of belonging that one experiences under the effects of a dysfunctional parent. The sense of loss and wanting is splayed onto the canvas with dark colours, covering up what used to be my first ever painting that I was once too scared to “ruin”.
The title “Identified” is chosen because the painting released me from this confusion-causing childhood burden; and since then my artistic approach and style has shifted. I am free. Free to forge my identity.
The second piece, “The Movement” thematically proceeds “Identified” as it is the continuance of this new-found freedom in self, artistic expression and identities. It is the processing and release of the resentments that create causes of suffering and restraint on the canvas.

Carmela Loiacono – How would you describe your creative process? What or who influenced or is influencing your work?
Minkah Amen-Ra – My work is mainly influenced by my spiritual journey. I am not a strictly religious person but I meditate and pray to connect to source as needed. My ongoing journey of spiritual awakening constantly rewards me with inner clarity and visual insight into elements of the “inner worlds”. That introspect and intuit are what guide my hands when I draw and paint. Most if not all of my paintings have origins in some random vision I may have while praying, dreaming or simply gazing.
I have no formal training in art but I grew up with parents who are fine artists. Though I only developed an interest in fine art during adulthood, I have come to realise how influential watching them do art as a child has been.

Carmela Loiacono – What do you think about shared art on social media? Could it be an alternative way of communicating contemporary art?
Minkah Amen-Ra – In a world where we have subjected ourselves to trends, derivatives and artificial intelligence, originality is like gold. It is important for artists to have an online presence as it benefits us all when we are able to witness the powerful materialisation of the  inner workings of a person’s mind. It is important because it inspires, disturbs and stirs the spirit; and it is done in a space that can reach anyone in the world, rather than a museum or a sophisticated gallery in a fixed location where many would ordinarily not have access or be too intimidated to go. Also, social media is an excellent way for artists to connect directly with collectors and achieve financial stability without an intermediary.
Yes, social media has become a necessary alternative to the traditional means of communicating contemporary art.

Carmela Loiacono – What are your future goals and/or projects?
Minkah Amen-Ra  – I am currently working on a series called “The Mirror” which shows the spiritual evolution a person experiences during enlightenment as their eyes begin to see beyond the (MUNDANE) physical representation of self. The series features the progress of a woman who is looking in a mirror as she trains herself to see her truest form, beyond the unsubtle physical form.