Tags for This Work

• Cultural Art
• Illustrator

• Drawing
• People

• Graphic art
• Uraban Art

Inspiration for This Work

Public transport in London

Student Biography

When were you born?

I was born in South Africa in 1986; it was the final decade of Apartheid and marked the emergence of a new egalitarian nation that would teach me a deep love for other cultures and people.

What is your background?

My parents were both creatives in the South African advertising industry. My father was the creative director of JWT Johannesburg at 26 and my mother ran a very successful casting agency. Following the sudden death of my dad in 1998, my mum decided to immigrate to Australia with my younger brother and I.

What inspired you to become an artist or designer?

Art and music have always been my first loves, but it was not until I lost my dad that I became fully immersed in my work. Since leaving Africa I have travelled to London, America and Asia and the cities and cultures of these places have been the inspiration for endless drawings and works.

Who would you like to work in collaboration with or create something for?

I would love to one day use my artistic talents in collaboration with great film directors such as Scorsese and Taratino, who have been on the forefront of filmic expression and innovation.

How has your work evolved over the past 3 years?

In the last three years university has provided me with the resources and means to developed my work from sketchbooks to large-scale works and animation.

How can art and design contribute to society?

I think that art contributes immensely to the development of society. Having travelled extensively and coming from a country once torn by racial conflict, I feel that the universal nature of art provides a means of communication which exceeds the limitations of language.

Where would you like to work after university?

Following the completion of my degree I hope to work in the advertising or feature film industry either as a storyboard artist or conceptualiser.

Other Works by Monique Ashleigh