Prosper Aluu
Oyster River Pages: What inspired you to begin writing or creating? Has that source of inspiration changed throughout your life?
Prosper Aluu: I started creating art at a very young age inspired by cartoons and most especially comic books. But over the years it has changed. I began to explore more about people in relation to their society and environment.
ORP: Do you write or create with an audience in mind? If so, how do you consider the relationship between that audience and your work throughout your creative process?
PA: Sometimes I keep an audience in mind, sometimes I don't. Most times it's about painting as a means to keep a diary. A method of storytelling. Deep down I know there will always be an audience so I'm not really concerned about that. But one way or another people relate to what I create.
ORP: What does success as a writer or artist mean to you?
PA: Success to me is defined by the value people see in what I do and how it grows over time.
ORP: Does writing or creating energize or exhaust you? What aspects of your artistic process would you consider the most challenging or rewarding?
PA: It can be exhausting as well as energizing. The marketing sometimes can be a big deal.
ORP: Do you know more than one language? How does this influence your art and/or writing?
PA: English and French to and extent. I started learning French when I started working with a gallery based in a French speaking country.
ORP: What books have you read many times?
PA: None. I've not read a book more than once.
ORP: What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing or creating? What advice would you give to another writer or artist?
PA: "Be true to yourself". Express yourself not someone else.
ORP: What do you hope readers (or your audience) will take away from your creative work?
PA: Being unique and the art of storytelling.
