Teach me something I don’t know in the next five minutes. Colour is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, influence mood, and even influence physiological reactions.
What inspires you? Music, good food and wine. My husband. Travelling abroad. Looking into my children’s eyes. Positive people.
What’s the last thing you watched on TV and why did you choose to watch it? “Mad men”. It’s a series based on the decadencies of the advertisement industry in the 1950s/60s. It was recommended by friends.
What was the last gift you gave someone? My sister’s birthday gift. It was an artwork I made a few years back.
What do you think about when you’re alone in your car? I try and be present to my surroundings. I always make sure there is good music playing.
You’re a new addition to the paint box. What colour would you be and why? Fluorescent pink. It’s such a loud, bright colour and glows within the visible spectrum when exposed to UV light.
How do you handle criticism? I welcome criticism. It keeps me grounded and I learn everytime from it .
What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Wish there were more hours to continue sleeping.
Tell me about a time you did the right thing and no one saw you do it. I picked up a cellphone in the middle of the road, phoned the last call and dropped it off at the owners house.
What do you worry about, and why? My children’s safety and future.
Artist Kilmany-Jo Liversage believes in the power of colour
Adman Mike Abel of M&C Saatchi Abel talks to Cape Town artist Kilmany-Jo Liversage about murals, colour and street art
Image: Supplied
Describe the colour yellow to somebody who is blind. Yellow is the sun shining on your face.
What’s the most interesting thing about you that we wouldn’t learn from your CV alone? I played in a symphony concert at the age of nine.
What are you known for? I am an urban contemporary Cape Town-based artist. I am influenced by street culture and paint large scale portraiture. I have made murals in Washington, Canada, Dubai, Austria and Australia.
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Teach me something I don’t know in the next five minutes. Colour is a powerful communication tool and can be used to signal action, influence mood, and even influence physiological reactions.
What inspires you? Music, good food and wine. My husband. Travelling abroad. Looking into my children’s eyes. Positive people.
What’s the last thing you watched on TV and why did you choose to watch it? “Mad men”. It’s a series based on the decadencies of the advertisement industry in the 1950s/60s. It was recommended by friends.
What was the last gift you gave someone? My sister’s birthday gift. It was an artwork I made a few years back.
What do you think about when you’re alone in your car? I try and be present to my surroundings. I always make sure there is good music playing.
You’re a new addition to the paint box. What colour would you be and why? Fluorescent pink. It’s such a loud, bright colour and glows within the visible spectrum when exposed to UV light.
How do you handle criticism? I welcome criticism. It keeps me grounded and I learn everytime from it .
What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Wish there were more hours to continue sleeping.
Tell me about a time you did the right thing and no one saw you do it. I picked up a cellphone in the middle of the road, phoned the last call and dropped it off at the owners house.
What do you worry about, and why? My children’s safety and future.
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How do you define success and how do you measure up to your own definition? Success is making a success out of something you are passionate about. I am passionate about fine arts and through blood, sweat and tears, I can call it a successful career up until the present.
Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure? I have failed so many times in my career as an artist. In that moment I am devastated, but already plotting on how to do better next time.
Would you rather be liked or respected? Respected.
What is the last book you read? Winter of the World by Ken Follett.
If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be? Colour made me do it!
What makes you angry? When people are unaccountable for their actions.
What was the biggest risk you ever took and what did you learn from it? To become a full time artist. It was the only thing that would make me a satisfied and happy person.
Tell me about your most significant project? My residency to Medellin, Colombia, in 2005 awarded to me by UNESCO-Auschberg. There, I learnt how powerful street art and public art can be for a community. How exhilarating it is to work large scale on a wall and engage with the passerby.
If you were a brand, what would your motto be? Don’t just have one favourite colour.
Work by artist Kilmany-Jo Liversage: