Slawn the anti-hero

When Slawn opens the door to his east London home he is dressed in nothing but a vest and oversized boxer shorts. The Nigerian-born artist is renowned for his laid-back demeanour and, within the first few seconds of our encounter, any expectations I’d had of him have been fulfilled — the man is practically horizontal. I follow Slawn up three flights of stairs until we reach the living room, where he cosies up beside his son, Beau – whose eyes are glued to an enormous television displaying Pixar’s Cars – before proceeding to wrap himself in a soft, pink blanket. If one thing is clear, it’s that Slawn does not care. Not about being ‘professional’. Not about how he’s perceived in the media. Not even about his art. One very clear exception, however, is the immediately-evident importance of the artist’s family, which currently comprises partner Tallula, their new-born son and, of course, Beau. In this area, the 24-year-old displays a maturity beyond his years. “I had to grow up quickly,” Slawn explains as I look over at Beau, who babbles something about the new Lightning McQueen bed that his dad built for him. “I feel like my whole life has just been a weird, corny film situation, like, the artist with ADHD that deals with addiction, and then becomes successful and starts a family that saves him.”

It is almost fitting that Slawn describes his life as a film. When I ask him where he thinks his success as an artist came from (an arguably valid question given how notoriously lackadaisical he is about his craft), Slawn is emphatic about some kind of predetermination playing a part. “I don’t believe in luck,” he says. “But I feel like my story has been written already. I’ve lived this life multiple times, so I’m very carefree about how I do things.” I’m not sure whether or not to take this comment literally, but, if Slawn is referring to being well-versed in risks paying off, it’s a simple fact. Barely in his mid-twenties, the artist has established himself as one of the biggest skatewear designers in Lagos with his brand Motherlan, sold his pop-art to a slew of A-Listers and set up BeauBeaus café alongside Tallula (to name just a few of his ventures). And, amid this flurry of success, the common denominator can undoubtedly be pinned down to Slawn’s ‘act now, think later’ attitude. “If I have an idea, I just do it immediately,” he says. “I’m impulsive. I’m not scared to do things. I’m just like, bro, if it works, it works. If it doesn’t, I’ll just go and become a real estate agent or something.”

This excerpt was taken from HUNGER Issue 33: Good People. Stay tuned for the full story.