A digital creator of all things we’d tend to associate with the urban scene – from back streets and factories to rappers and stern-faced graffiti style face portraits, Mongo Gushi (MG) in fact, rather surprisingly, began their lifelong passion for art with a keenness for drawing birds. ‘I remember always drawing birds’ MG tells me. ‘I was a huge fan of birds from a young age and still am, trying to recreate their form seemed like a natural thing to do. I still enjoyed drawing birds when I can, I think they’re fascinating creatures. Nevertheless, MG’s desire to generate any kind of artwork is seemingly inherent, as he says: ‘I think as soon as I could hold a crayon or pencil, I remember enjoying drawing, doodling and just making marks. I can’t remember an exact time when I started only that I always have. I also had some encouraging comments early on about what I was doing which motivated me to keep doing it.’ Unlike many artists who begin with such a passion however, MG never had a formal artistic education and continues to focus upon the place of their birth – the industriously beautiful, well for those who accept such an oxymoron, town of Port Talbot.
Located in the southern region of the ancient principality of Wales, a country that sits to the west of the United Kingdom for our international readers, lies the reasonably large coastal town of Port Talbot. I’ve been lucky enough to see much of world’s greatest sights (my grandmother left me a small chunk of her in inheritance when I was 19 – she didn’t die or anything, she just told me that she wanted ‘to be alive to see me spend it’ – a marvellous woman indeed). Yet looking across the enormous natural beach of Aberavon in Port Talbot out across the vast Swansea Bay; the mountains wrapping themselves around the sea; the cliffs of Devon protruding from the Bristol Channel from afar; the unusually balanced mix of widespread countryside and ocean; I honestly believe it to be one of the most awe-some sights on the planet (I hyphenate here as I believe the word ‘awesome’ has been grossly overused to the point that it has lost the potency of its true meaning). But all of this is only if you look to your right – what’s on the left is in fact what the area is best known for.
If you ever watch a film or television programme and Port Talbot is in it (BBC’s Steeltown Murders anyone?), then the chances are that the backdrop of the scene will be left facing. Such a shot will, a producer might hope, capture a key landmark which provides Port Talbot with its very name – the town’s gigantic port. Like most urban centres in south Wales, Port Talbot grew in size thanks to the extraction of coal in the south Wales Valleys throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the massive growth in industry, from copper mills to railways, that came with the opening of those mines. All of this coal and metal however, needed to be shipped and just as the III Marques of Bute built the vast Cardiff Docks, Lord Talbot constructed a huge port in Port Talbot.
Looking upon such areas nowadays, a modern observer may be hard pressed to comprehend just how industrial the region of south Wales once was. Cardiff for instance, once exported 70% of the world’s coal, whilst Swansea sold 80% of the world’s copper (the area once boasting the nickname ‘Copperopolis’). Though, whilst these urban centres are now much like any other, with their tower block tertiary sectors and modern apartments, Port Talbot, particularly for those who like to romanticise Industrial Britain, still stands as a powerful reminder of this time in the nation’s history.
Looking over the town of Port Talbot, as some of MG’s works reveal, is a bit like looking across something out of Victorian times. Row after row of terraced houses stand in the wake of a huge Steel Works that churns out not only metal, but a great deal of smoke and fire from its tall standing chimneys. Indeed, although much of the industry in south Wales has long disappeared, the factory which utilises and that was set up right next door to the port, continues produce steel today on a colossal scale – the factory itself is an extensive seven miles long. Along with such industry however, the Works employing some twenty thousand people at its height in the mid-twentieth century, though still employing a substantial six thousand today, came a great deal of housing. Interestingly, the Sandfields estate, which was built to accommodate the Steelworkers, still houses many of the factory workers – and it within this industriously orientated urban area that MG was raised.
‘I grew up in a standard working-class family with a younger brother and sister in Sandfields estate Port talbot - about as urban as you can get. I once heard it was the biggest council estate in Europe at one point’ MG tells me. ‘There was a time a few years ago that I would get annoyed by the constant negative comments or opinions of the town, especially from those who live within it. It would make me think, “well, if you don’t like it move!” So I chose to try and present the area in a more positive light’. Though, whilst many find a peculiar beauty in the dragon that is the Steelworks, the positive light that shines from Port Talbot in the eyes of MG isn’t always the fire that’s emitted from the beast’s furnaces.
‘I try creating images of the town’s beauty; the unseen areas and the scenes not necessarily associated with the town… it’s not all about the industry although that does have a certain draw to it’ MG says. ‘We are a town of urban sprawls, industry, mountains, valleys, countryside and, not to mention, a wonderful coastline; it ticks all the boxes for me. Then you have the people. Port Talbot has a reputation for creativity, especially from the theatrical world. I think it’s born from escapism; we’re a working class town, busy with life, sometimes a break is needed for more soulful pursuits’. The theatrical element MG refers to here, doubtlessly pertains to some of the marvellous actors the area has produced, namely the late Richard Burton (though he is from Pontrydyfen up the road from the town – I’d like to see a few readers try and pronounce that Welsh village’s name!) and the contemporary Michael Sheen. Sheen in particular has become synonymous with the town however, because unlike Burton, who spent the bulk of his celebrity life in Hollywood and then Switerzland, Sheen decided to move back to Port Talbot after creating his live-action theatrical film, 'The Passion'.
‘When Michael Sheen brought the Passion to the town I really thought it would ignite a fire in people as it did for me’ MG enthusiastically expresses. ‘I thought the town and its council would capitalise on it and create more creative spaces for those inclined to develop and provide further culture for the town, but it didn’t materialise. Again, when Banksy decided to drop a piece of iconic art on a garage in Taibach [a village in Port Talbot] I thought it was yet another opportunity for the town to use as a springboard to build on, but it got sold and moved out. These two events were pivotal for me and really made me push on and pursue my creativity more. Again, something that no-one else could control.’ In this regard, MG’s creative process is very much symbiotic - as the content of their creations, chiefly the urban landscapes of Port Talbot, frequently provides them with the momentum to create such pieces in the first place.
‘Most of my urban work is created via dog walks’ MG points out. ‘It’s a good time to forget about everything else and just look and see what’s in front of you: the juxtaposition of things; the beauty and the ugliness of my surroundings; the contrast of light and shadow and what shapes and feeling that’s provides’. Interestingly, in a similar manner to Paul, whilst MG appears to find solace and inspiration in such urban lands via his walks, their also keen to capture the unseen edges of them – though, as opposed to Paul, MG’s appear to be more to do with the overlooked shapes and colours more so than people. ‘The colour of decay, the unexpected inclusion or something that’s out of place, the natural composition of how a car is parked outside a house. It’s also the unseen, these are not scenes that are experienced by many and even if they do, they are generally ignored or unnoticed. Bringing them to people’s attention has proven to be an exciting and fulfilling element of what I’ve been doing. It has also reminded me to do what I want and like and in doing so it has hopefully communicated my passion’.
To convey such a passion, as you may have already discovered, MG creates in his own unique style through the use of digital art. Although seen as increasingly controversial amongst a growing number of artists and art enthusiasts alike these days, primarily thanks to the proliferation of computer-generated AI art, digital art was in fact first recognised as an artistic medium almost sixty years ago. Of course, when it first came about in the 1960s, it was primarily consigned to the laboratory, but even then, it was clear to many that this would provide people with not only a new way of seeing the world but a means by which to explore an entirely new one. Indeed, people may be quick nowadays to criticise digital art, but they also forget that it’s thanks to this medium that they are able to play their cherished video games and enjoy much of what they see on television.
Such a groundbreaking form of escapism is arguably still the driving force behind digital art today and MG’s work is a great example of this. The different colour skies, the simplified forms of coastline, the unseen symmetry within people’s faces; when you’re viewing MG’s work, it’s almost as if you’re seeing the world through some sort of third eye. Interestingly, when you put it this way, it’s almost, for those who were here for Edition XI, like viewing a cubist piece. MG’s work for instance, simplifies the sights and objects that exist within the often-complex world surrounding us. Though, as well as shapes, it is worth reiterating the power of colour here, particularly as it appears to be the key to MG’s artistic manipulation, as he says: ‘I love colour, I love how you can manipulate it in whatever way you want… if you take the time to look closely at the world in detail, you will be able notice the absolute kaleidoscope of colours in everyday things, especially faces. A blue face, and orange face, whatever colour I start with was usually a colour I found in my reference piece for that particular work, exaggerated to a huge degree as to change it and create interest, for me at least. There are also the artists I take inspiration from: Hockney, Warhol and Hopper in particular, all used colour and light very well in my opinion’. What is fascinating here however, is how, much like these artists, MG’s work is very much photographic in style.
For those who were here for the likes of Editions I or II, you may remember how we discussed techniques that photographers like to use when doing a shoot. One technique many a photographer, such as Dan Morgan who’s works have featured in a few editions now, enjoy utilising in particular is the ‘rule of thirds’. This technique focuses upon the photographs composition and compartmentalises the photograph into a background, a middle ground and foreground, with the subject often placed to the right or left hand of the image rather than in the centre. Such a composition, when curated correctly, can be incredibly satisfying to view, indeed, you’d be hard pressed to find a professional photograph that isn’t set up in this manner. Interestingly however, such a technique can also be seen within MG’s works, particularly when we look at the placement of the cars, buildings and seascapes he creates.
Such similarities between MG’s art and photography, however, are no coincidence. In fact, much of the creative process for MG’s pieces relies upon the use of their camera. ‘Photography has always provided me with a creative outlet, especially when time was at a premium. A picture takes a second to make, and with the introduction of digital cameras it meant a 1000 pictures could be taken quite easily. A further step to that was the development of mobile phone cameras which meant that it was always on hand to snap something interesting. It helped creative a visual notebook of what I was seeing, a reference library to use as a base to create from’. It this ease of use, this instant way to create, that also ignited his passion, as it has for many, such as Marlene in Edition XI, for digital art.
‘Digital art for me was born through convenience’ MG tells me. ‘I could see the value of the internet and the online world as it started to develop in my younger years and creating Mongo Gushi as a unique entity nearly 20 years ago put me on that path. When we started our family, the time and focus that I needed to use my paints and other art materials started to disappear as my priorities changed. This is when I began to dabble with digital options: sitting down at the end of a long day with my pc, digitally doodling, testing the boundaries of its and my capabilities. My wife then bought me one of the first iPads and that’s where it started to gain momentum. As I developed my skills, I began to experiment with different applications and tools within that world. I haven’t looked back since, although as my children have started to grow up and rely on me less for day to day stuff, I have started to pull my paints and more physical art props out when I can’. It has also been thanks to this additional time on his hands, that MG has also managed to get on to another project of his – and in doing so, vent one of his life’s greatest frustrations.
‘My frustration as a younger artist by the lack of opportunities to show or share my work led me to waiting for something to start creatively in the town [of Port Talbot], something I could join and be a contributing part of’ MG expresses. ‘I waited and waited: waited after the passion; waited after Banksy; and was still waiting until I thought fuck it! And did it myself’. This, he created, was his own Zine, called the Port Talbot Culture Club. ‘The Port Talbot Culture Club had been an idea swimming around in my head for a couple of years, I wasn’t quite sure what the idea was only that I wanted to create a platform for other creatives to show their wares, something that was accessible and inclusive. This now takes up most of my creative time, collecting, contacting and curating art and culture to present to a wider audience’. Though, whilst it might be inspiring to see someone follow their passions, what ultimately puts many people off doing so is the energy it takes to do so – but in that regard, MG’s finishing line carries with it a poignant message for us all: ‘it is hard work and takes a lot of time and effort, but the payback means it’s more than worth it’.
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