Portsmouth artist creating project on trans bodies while celebrating ‘love and positivity’ inspires college students with campus talk

HAVANT students experienced an inspirational visit from a trans Portsmouth artist who inspired listeners with stories of how his work has taken him around the world.
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Artist and activist Samo White was invited to put on a talk in the Studio Theatre at Havant and South Downs College’s Havant site.

Samo, who came out as transgender six years ago when he was 30, has been working on I EXIST, a book and exhibition project aimed at celebrating trans bodies.

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Samo White at HSDC Havant. Picture: HSDCSamo White at HSDC Havant. Picture: HSDC
Samo White at HSDC Havant. Picture: HSDC
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During the lockdown in 2020, Samo was in bed after spinal surgery and began to draw other people, rather than the self portraits he had produced before.

Samo said: ‘It occurred to me there’s not much representation of trans people in the art world.

‘This is what started I EXIST – I think about this book now and can’t help but grin and think about how amazing trans people are.

‘Part of my mission is to normalise what we are and what we have become and celebrate that.

Samo spoke to students about his work. Picture: HSDCSamo spoke to students about his work. Picture: HSDC
Samo spoke to students about his work. Picture: HSDC
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‘My plan is to keep growing this with messages of love and positivity, not just for people in my community but for everybody.’

Samo’s street art took him to New York, as he was one of the artists sponsored to fly out and paint the streets during WorldPride in 2019.

He discussed his journey from starting as a tattooist, to creating street art and huge mural projects.

Students and staff asked a variety of questions after the talk, including which artists have inspired Samo along the way and where they can see his street art in Portsmouth.

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In the afternoon, Samo visited an A Level Fine Art lesson to put on a mini workshop based around portraiture.

The students paired up then sketched with a limited time frame and drew how they felt about each other.

Mark Kellett, fine art course manager, said: ‘I’ve been trying to get Samo in for quite some time as I know how much the students love his work and respect what he stands for.

‘Seeing an artist in person, hearing about their journey and development as an artist is vital to any creative.

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‘Samo’s message of love and positivity through art is refreshing and I hope will inspire my students to carry on being creative in the same way.’

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