Kadeem Philip, aka Life of Deem explores autobiographical meaning in paintings
“Everything has been an accident.”
That is how Kadeem Philip, aka Life of Deem, describes his art career so far. The visual artist and illustrator says he never really planned on becoming an artist. He turned to art during difficult times in his life to help him express his emotions and channel his thoughts. In 2014, he took a leap and has worked on his art ever since.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Kadeem first started drawing when he was around five years old. He says his mom, a fashion designer, was his first teacher, but it was his uncle who introduced him to graphic novels and really made him interested in drawing and sketching.
When he was 14, Kadeem said he had stopped drawing altogether. He was starting high school, and he was not sure if he wanted to be known as the “artsy kid.” At the age of 20, during his first battle with depression that art came into his life again. He saw a close friend of his, whom he did not know was an artist, drawing, and that encouraged him to start drawing again. During his final year in college, Kadeem said he knew he wanted to be an artist. He said that he was a DJ at the time, so he had an artistic outlet, but drawing and sketching made him feel at peace. He said, “I didn’t even know about Michael’s at the time… I didn’t know which materials were low grade, expensive, or cheap; I just bought materials and taught myself to paint.”
Kadeem is not trying to fit a particular niche; he just creates what he feels. He has made two series, Colors and Kadie. The Colors series is dedicated to the women in his life and the women of the world. Each color and feature seen in the portraits is deliberately chosen to represent some aspect of the women’s life. In one piece, a portrait of his mother, he broke down why he decided to include some aspects in her painting to create a complete picture of her. The various shades of purple represent his mom’s favorite color, lavender. These purple hues also represent some nostalgia for the artist as purple was the color of his mother’s bedroom when he was growing up. The purple butterflies symbolize lupus, a disease that his mother is currently living with. The lotus flowers, grown in the dark, murky environments into something beautiful, represent his journey with his mother. “With my mother being a single parent, it was hard going up, but that time in my life was beautiful.”
The series Kadie is his life. All its good, all of its bad, and all of its changes. The series centers on a drawing of a stuffed bear. The bear is a little beaten up. There is a band-aid on his left eye and a tear in his left shoulder. Kadeem drew the bear for a previous project but never planned to create a series around it. It wasn’t until he was injured at work that he found himself relating to the bear, with his own dislocated left shoulder and an injury to his left eye. He decided to turn this bear drawing into a painting, and people couldn’t stop asking him about the story behind it. He said, “The bear is me telling what I feel and go through.” Self-portraits, he says, where you show yourself in pain are not always the easiest to share with family and friends. So the bear became a medium through which he can share all his feelings, positive or negative, in a way that draws people in and makes them want to know more. Kadeem says that the “Kadie” series will continue with him and serve as an autobiography of his life.
Kadeem plans to take his art on tour one day, both nationally and internationally. He says he would most love to do shows in Tokyo, Paris, and Switzerland. Another goal of his is to collaborate with big brands, like Nike and 10deep, and smaller, local businesses in Brooklyn. Kadeem started supporting himself solely through his art two years ago. While it hasn’t been easy, he says he is fulfilled and enjoys “moving how he wants. “ He is currently working on a graphic novel for kids and a partnership with Thrive Collective, an organization that not only puts murals in schools but also teaches kids to paint murals. He says that at this point in his life, he is choosing projects, not just looking to be compensated for his work but feeling fulfilled and enjoying the work he does.
