Luladey Takele
Teshome (Lula)
Bio
and artist statement
Luladey was born and raised in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. Completing her bachelor’s degree in Sociology, she started her career
in education where she served as a program associate and taught art at Mother
Caroline Academy in Boston, M.A.
She is currently serving as a director of
college and career counseling at Maranyundo Girls’ school in Nyamata, Rwanda.
As a result of her exposure abroad and career experience, she saw the
importance of depiction and representation of the African culture and the
African people.
Luladey has been drawn to art
since childhood. She started with recreating existing artwork and it stuck with
her ever since. The joy felt led her to exercise her creativity through different
mediums, painting, designing, photography and ink sketch.
Luladey describes art as the mother of all
existence and believes that artistic creativity is conceived, developed,
defined and redefined until it’s free to exist in a space to create. Her art is
inspired by her African Roots, her relationships, and her pursuit of her
personal truth.
My
inspiration comes from everything I am and everything I see, from positive to
negative, the good, the bad, and the ugly. A consistent aspect of my work is that
each time I pick up that ink, brush, camera, I choose to put a piece of myself,
my current state of emotion in my pieces. and I deliberately choose what I want
to pass on to others by making my contribution and try to make it as uplifting
as possible.
My
work is explicitly rooted in my African heritage as it allows me to tell my
story. It’s a demonstration of the land, the people and the cultures I love. I
hope to positively represent everyone who identifies themselves as Africans. It
is for those who relate to the pieces but most importantly, for those who are
constantly working towards self healing.
My art is for the lost souls and for the generations to come. My art is a mirror image of who is looking. It reflects and imparts recognition of our bold, unapologetic, resilient and beautiful self, especially when it doesn’t feel like it.