Artist Spotlight: Layover Art

To celebrate our new Artist Spotlight feature and the UK’s 34th Black History Month we chatted to the super talented Amanda Kandawire (Layover Art) about her experiences as an artist and overcoming big challenges within her career. You can read our conversation below or explore her collection here. Remember, every time you purchase a print from East End Prints you are helping to support independent artists and designers.

Tell us about you, where did you grow up?

I am from sunny South Africa and grew up in Soweto. I am a Commercial Pilot by profession but creativity and art run deep in the core of my being, and that’s why Layover Art is such a big part of me.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

I draw my inspiration from Womxn. From our stories to the uniqueness of every being. Femininity and nature are a big part of my compositions.

Who is your biggest role model and why?

It is my mom! The fire I possess inside of me is because of her. I’ve seen her build a life for us from nothing and she is a real life Phoenix in my eyes!

What's the biggest challenge you have faced in your career?

Being retrenched during the pandemic has been my biggest challenge to date. I lost my flying job during 2020, and emotionally, mentally and financially it was a struggle. But my art ended up being the therapy I didn’t even know I needed to help put my pieces back together again.

What's your biggest achievement and why?

Starting Layover Art and Buyiswa Earrings because so many people judged me for doing it. They didn’t understand what a Pilot was doing in the arts, let alone why she was starting two businesses in a pandemic. But both these brands reminded me how much I believe in myself and my dreams, and how I can never go wrong when I do things aligned with my purpose. 

  

Amanda and Xhosa Woman both by Layover Art