Skepta will be auctioning off his first contemporary art piece at Sotheby’s in London, later this week, as part of a collection he has co-curated for the brokers' New Bond Street galleries. Skepta's piece is titled Mama Goes To Market and was painted by the rapper in 2020.
The painting is expected to sell for between £40,000-£60,000, with bidding set to end on September 13.
In a statement provided to Fader, Skepta explained the painting: "My mum used to carry me just as the woman in my painting carries her child. I always planned to include these four figures: a young boy, two women engrossed in conversation, and another lady rationing rice into a bowl besides baskets brimming with fruit and veg. I designed their clothes too - ‘Nigerian Couture’."
As for how Skepta landed on the nine pieces of artwork he had a hand in selecting for the Contemporary Curated series, he said that they all evoke a feeling of emotion a well as trigger "powerful dialogues."
“For me it’s about that beautiful thing of being able to look at a picture and feeling an emotion,” Skepta said about the series as a whole. “If I look at an art piece and feel something, I fall in love with it."
Regarding the pieces he chose for the collection, he added: “Whether they were created by African artists or not, they all share in this essence. In one way or another, they triggered powerful dialogues with my painting too.”
The collection will be on display at Sotheby's New Bond Street galleries from September 8-13.