Describing his style as contemporary surrealism, Fuyana’s dreamlike depictions present the familiar in fragmented, ungrounded and disjointed ways. “My process of work begins with remembering my dreams and how I imagine certain aspects of my dreams incorporated into a composition with some of my interests and landscapes I would like to visit,” starts Fuyana who then moves on to sketching before evolving the idea into an oil painting once he is happy with the composition.

Distorting contexts we know by incorporating spatial sensibilities from his dreams and imagination to get lost in, Fuyana’s practice also serves as environmental intervention. “I would describe my practice as an intervention into how the environment is being affected by many of the ways we act as a society,” explains Fuyana.

A deaf person, Fuyana’s process begins with this consideration and how he positions himself in the contemporary world. “The earlier works I created incorporated a lot of emojis in them, simply because that was an easier way for me to communicate and express myself a lot more,” explains the artist. Replacing this is Fuyana’s take on self-portraiture: painting himself in solitude, the artist seems to speak to the disconnects he often experiences.

Lucid: Fuyana’s landscapes are the result of the artist’s interest in colour study. “I think oil painting allows me to depict my subconscious mind. Although it takes time to dry, there’s a lot I can achieve visually using oil paint as a medium.”