Today we’d like to introduce you to Franklyn Sinanan.
Hi Franklyn, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
“Witch doctor painted what . . ?” That’s how they referred to me in my time at the South Florida Art Center in Miami Beach. I was born in Trinidad, raised in Canada, and at the moment am living and working as an artist in Florida.
When I was born, I didn’t have a choice as to what path or direction lay ahead of me. I was born with a gift . . . a self-taught artist with no formal training.
I am an experimental mixed-media artist . . . complex and obscure, full of abstractions, madness and chaos. A strong focus in my work is my take on beliefs, religious ceremonies, and ancient traditions that pass from generations to generations.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m a self-taught experimental artist from Canada, I always want to follow the American dream saved enough money to South Beach where I stayed for 7 months and came across South Florida arts center on Lincoln road with my portfolio. I was unknown, but was accepted as an artist in residency for 9 years on a special Visa which I can only live off my work in the US. Things are compounded by lifelong learning disabilities, that afffect daily life. It has not been easy.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I often enter into a trance-like state, as I stand before a painting I am working on, as if part of a ritual where the work is channeled by creative spirits of good and evil, between heaven and earth, and I am just an instrument . . . clairvoyant . . . channeling a vision.
When you step into my studio, you are in my world . . . a new planet to discovered. I have created a complex world that lives and breathes from my hands. When I paint, I sacrifice a bit of my blood as I take a piece of paper and breathe a soul into it . . . it’s alive . . . and yes, the dead can dance.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Being part of the South Florida Art Center (Oolite Arts) was important in my past, networking in Ft Lauderdale. I simply have to find people that are interested in the arts and then use my studio to show them my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.franklinsinanan.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/franklynsinanan/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fsinanan/
