@keyatama

A mural in Stuttgart, Arkansas. The Mural uses desaturated pink and yellow pastel colors to give it a warm inviting feel. It is centered around friends and individuals on a journey both together and separately. The animals symbolize nature in its balance chaos and tranquility. There is a spectrum of animals with different temperaments to emphasize this. The sentences making up the boarders are inspired by old western sayings. This creates abstract poetry about our individual and our collective journey through life. The Title 'We are us together' is a proverb that is fundamentally sums up heart of South African and collectivist beliefs.

Bio: Keya Tama is a South African artist based in the United States, between Los Angeles and New York. Inspired by pastel color palettes, pattern, and symbolism, Keya Tama has been a practicing artist and muralist since the age of thirteen. His style can be describe as ancient contemporary minimalism; by processing and refining images into minimalistic forms while maintaining their essence, his works aim to reunite old and new through contrasting yet unified iconography. The artist uses visuality from the storehouse of art history and references and remixes their recurring themes to create stark contrasts and discover unexpected commonalities which produce unusual, arresting, yet strangely familiar works. Working primarily in acrylics to create his pieces, there is a strong graphic feel to each piece. This highly individual style naturally lends itself to collaborations with other makers and craftspeople such as embroiderers and weavers. Across the artist’s practice, there are recurring themes of contrasting ancient and contemporary iconography, family and community, monoliths, and minimalism.