Abstract Painting from Africa, "Come In"

"My goal is to bring meaning to nature through my art. My dream is to help other fellow artists and to support our women in getting a trade through art.

"I was born in 1971 in Accra, the second child of four. I have three younger brothers. I earned a BFA degree with a major in sculpture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, then received a diploma in painting and graphic design from the Ghanata College of Art.

"My paintings have been mainly conceptual and abstract, and most of them are the result of experiments. I'm happy to say they have improved over the years. My work consists primarily of multimedia, installations, etc. I have also developed a style of working on sacks with saw dust and glue.

"My inspiration derives mostly from daily activities and the events in our society. Each piece I complete motivates me and sometimes people's appreciation is another source of motivation. I also want to do something new and to learn from friends. But my greatest challenge has been with my family, who seem not to understand me and what I do."

David Mawunya Charway has been a member of the Foundation for Contemporary Art (FCA) since 2006. He has shown his work in a number of regional venues, and took part in Art in the Garden (FCA, 2007) and the Anti Stigma Campaign (2007), an art workshop and exhibition as part of the National Stigma Reduction Campaign against people living with HIV. He currently teaches at Jirapa Senior High School.