Chanda Hopkins
Where were you born and where do you live?
Dallas, Texas.
When and why did you start making art?
I started making art in 1999, although at the time I did not know that was I was making was "art". I started creating collages just to calm my nerves and to amuse myself.
What inspires you?
People, kindness and color inspire me. Politics also inspire me to create.
What about your technique is unique and different from other artists?
I don't think my techniques are unique or different from other artists, but I do think my message is often different.
What themes are present in your artwork?
Joy, faith and political outrage are often themes in my work. I express through color and content, but it is not always so overt that the meaning is easily discernible.
How has your culture impacted your artistic process?
I believe culture has more to do with where you are from, who you surround yourself with and all the elements that have been poured into your soul. So culturally speaking, I am a bit of an amalgamation of military, English, Texan and Black cultures. The impact of being culturally diverse means that I often use symbols and people in my art that are often not associated with what people believe to be "my culture", such as my heavy use of Audrey Hepburn in my work. As a black artist I have often been expected to use traditional African symbols in my work, to show "my culture" , but my mixed culture still comes through because I use what inspires me and not what is expected of me as a "black artist".
Name one artist or artwork from your hometown that you are very fond of.
I am deeply moved by Jane Quick To See Smith. Her emotional work has my soul and I will never forget her exhibit that I saw at the Austin Museum of Art. Being part Native American myself, her work resonated with me in a way that no other artist’s work has.
What does your art mean to you?
Art to me is freedom. Freedom to express myself in exactly the way I choose. No one can tell me how to create my art, as I believe my art is actually the act of sharing pieces of my soul.
What message do you want to relay through your work?
I relay different messages through my art, from “love one another”, to “stand up and fight”. The overall message I am trying to relay is to just FEEL. I want people to feel my work first before they start to analyze it and put their "stuff " onto it. “Feel” is what I am trying to communicate.
Describe your work in one word.
Loud.