Lately, we love… graphic artist Maxime Manga’s colourful collages

One of the things I love about art, design — and creativity in general — is its ability to reinvent itself, evolve and offer new energy to old forms. 

Having been a designer for some time now, it always feels brilliant to be surprised by art. To experience a fresh perspective or be confronted with something truly original fuels my own creativity.

There’s always something out there to be inspired by — and platforms like Instagram certainly make it easier to encounter. An artist whose work I’ve been loving lately is Maxine Manga, who publishes his work under the Instagram handle @mboa.art. Born and based in Cameroon, his colourful collages that fuse geometric shapes, textural elements, photography and fonts, feel vibrant and optimistic.

With a self-described Afrofuturistic style, Maxine’s motto is “using diversity to create uniqueness”. Working in the medium of digital collage since 2016, his bright, high-impact illustrations have led him to work with the likes of Adidas and The New Yorker.

Having completed a computer science degree in 2019, his art fuses digital elements and a contemporary outlook with a traditional artistic format.

Maxime is also a frequent collaborator with other artists and digital creators, adding or integrating layers of his style to their work — and by doing so, pushing the boundaries on the meaning of ‘collage’. He often shares videos giving a behind-the-scenes look of his process, and others where he talks through his thoughts on creativity and art.

It’s refreshing to see an artist bringing such a compelling energy to their work, and finding ways to share their individual style (and story) with the world.

And I love seeing creatives share and build on each other’s ideas, bring old art forms to life and use their unique vision — and technology — to produce something completely new.