Talk to us about your 2015 piece 'Magic City Power Figure', what was the inspiration behind it?

Classic African art was all about function. It was created to fulfil a purpose, from enhancing fertility and remembering ancestors, to controlling the external environment. Art today seems to lack function and does not exude a sense of power. I went to Art Basel Miami in 2016 and what I saw there of today's art was fast, shiny, and superficial. Much of it was luxury-based, created to grab our sense of recognition by incorporating cartoon and popular brand imagery. Is this what is appealing today?

More so than ever, I think people need to connect with art not only visually but also spiritually. On a very basic and instinctual level, when you look at classic African art, there is an immediate aesthetic appeal to its colour, shape, design, and patina. No education is needed, but you also get a sense of purpose.

Sigmund Freud had African art on display in his exam rooms. Why? Because these objects affect us emotionally. They reestablish us as humans—it's medicinal therapy that fulfils a basic need. Modern society can be so screwed up, but when I look at African art I get my compass back, it gives relief from society. When I look at African art pieces, I am floored by the power, meaning and feelings that they evoke. Art today lacks this and that's where I hope to come in.

I created 'Magic City Power Figure' to bring us back to the idea of function. I took influences directly from nkisi nkondi figures of the Kongo people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ever since I saw the Mangaaka figure at the MET I've been fascinated by how these figures were created, used and ultimately what they meant to the individual and to the entire community.

The kundu gland in the stomach that holds the 'medicine', the power to enable the figure accomplish great feats of good or evil; the mbeezi nails pounded into the figure to provoke the spirit residing within it and release the medicinal prescription. These functional elements are extremely powerful visually but also have parallels with life today, that's what I've tried to capture in my work. 'Magic City Power Figure' is about how Miami makes me feel, how we influence our environment and how it influences us. Driving the nails into the concrete allowed the release of Miami's prescription. I hope it does the same to the people who experience it.