CW - Violent Imagery
Richard Mensah - painter.
“I have experienced racism both overtly and in subtle forms.”
“I wasn’t born in the UK but moved here to pursue my Masters degree in 2002. Throughout my stay in the UK from being a student to working and becoming a full British national. In my University days, I lost count of the number of times I was stopped by the Police. I have experience racism from almost all the organisations I have worked with in the UK and continue to do so to date.
One of such stops had a profound impact on me and I remember this so vividly that it formed the basis of my painting ‘Taken’. During this stop, I was confronted by about 8 officers with their dogs citing suspicion of drugs… I don’t drink or even smoke… and during the stopped all the questions that were asked were immigration and being from Ghana.”