The Speaking Monkey Drawing

Expanding her visual arts practice from graphic design to painting, from abstraction to figurative work, and all the while keeping her love of language close whether in poetry or songwriting, self-taught artist Daphné Mia Essiet embodies the multi-dimensionality crucial for any multi-disciplinary artist. After graduating from university and taking on the corporate world, Essiet felt the pull of a feeling that’s guided her since she can remember. A gut feeling, inspiration, a muse—no perfect word exists for something bigger than what humans can explain, but that intuition is what pushed Essiet to become the full-time artist she is today. Her prolific and adventurous nature has since birthed a range of creations and projects, from poetry recitations to public art displays, and music, paintings, and digital art, to a book of poetry.  Inspired by seeing herself reflected in poets like Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni, celebrating the beauty of Black womanhood and the power of self-belonging are themes Essiet centers to offer viewers the representation that was so crucial to her. An appreciation for identity and self-discovery permeates Essiet’s artwork, reflecting her own rich and expansive background as a Franco-Nigerian artist born in Los Angeles, raised in the South of France, and later moving to New York. Today Daphné Mia Essiet lives and creates from her home in Harlem, NY.  Artist Statement Whether with language, sound, or imagery, finding connections and complementary forms of expression feels like using my art to design a map for the human experience.  Inspired by the bright and lively works of artists like Hilma af Klint, Minnie Evans, and Beatriz Milhazes, I employ vibrant colors, repetition, and energetic patterns to mimic the balance between life’s simplicity and complexity. By infusing my imagery with a sense of joy and love, my work invites viewers to heal by connecting with those qualities in themselves. My abstract work was born of my own desire for harmony and a healing meditative practice to manage chronic stress and the weight of institutional sexism and racism. 
By moving between an inner focus on my experiences as a Black woman of rich ancestry and an outer focus on society at large, my art becomes a bridge to a place where viewers can find themselves. In my figurative work, I center womanhood and the beauty of black identity to offer the value of representation and the strength of self-belonging.