Welcome to 15 Questions With…, a new interview series in which art writer Gary Grimes picks the brains of artists, curators and other creatives to understand what makes them tick through a series of quick-fire questions. This series aims to showcase the varying approaches creatives take to making art and how their relationships to the so-called art world differ, but also reveal what unites those responsible for the art we love.

Charlotte Mei is a painter and illustrator based in London whose work has been exhibited in London, Hong Kong, Berlin, New York, Tokyo and more. She has run creative workshops for the V&A, Soho House, and Now Gallery, and has spoken at the Royal College of Art, Pictoplasma Berlin and University of the Arts London. She has also worked extensively with brands, collaborating with the likes of Hermès, Nike, Rimowa, and The New York Times. 

In her most recent solo exhibition, entitled ‘Sweetener’, Mei transformed Fortnum & Mason 3’6 into an intimate dreamscape with a collection of oil paintings that explores the layered territories of tenderness, ritual, and our relationship with the natural world. The artist captures small, poetic moments, like emotional screenshots, that shimmer between the tactile and ethereal.

1. What is your earliest memory of a work of art?

My earliest memory of art is watching anime as a little kid with my sister, stuff like Pokémon, Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. I would copy the characters into my notebooks. Cartoons are totally the reason why I ever got into drawing!

2. Where do you turn to when you're in need of inspiration?

I feel very inspired by nature, so going for a walk in the woods or looking at a garden full of flowers always inspires me.

3. What do you like to do when you need to take a break from your practice?

Hang out with my friends in the pub, go to the cinema, or go to an exhibition! Living in London, we’re so spoiled for choice for things to do.

4. Who is your favourite artist?

There are too many to mention, but one of my fave living artists is Rose Wiley. Her paintings are so alive, and I love how they are inspired by everyday things like movies. I really look up to her.

5. What's the biggest crime an artist can commit?

Nothing really, I think the whole point of making art is being allowed to try everything and landing on what feels true or important to you.

6. Which gallery or museum should everyone try to visit at least once in their life?

The British Museum. Seeing art from around the world, spanning many hundreds or thousands of years into the past, is the most transcendent experience.

7. What is the worst thing about the art world?

That it’s very hard to access for working-class and poor people. Access to time, resources, and networks are all things that help get your art seen. I think it’s a really big problem that we have so few working-class voices rising to the top of the art world. And the world is missing out on a much-needed opportunity for new perspectives.

8. Whose opinions on art do you actually care about?

My friends.

9. What's your favourite piece of art that you own and why?

I actually pretty much only own artworks by my friends! I have paintings by Chris Harnan and Melissa Jarram in my home, and I adore them. 

10. Who are the last three musical artists you listened to?

Danny L Harle and Pinkpantheress ‘Starlight’ has been on repeat this summer. I’ve also been listening to Tommy, February 6, The Carpenters, and Arca.

11. What's your favourite colour and why? 

Pink cos it’s cute.

12. What three items would you grab if your house was burning down?

My dog, Monkey, if she counts as an item, paintings by my friends, and my passport, so I can leave the country and live in an all-inclusive resort, now that my house has burnt down.

13. What can you tell us about your show ‘Sweetener’ on view at Fortnum & Mason?

That it’s a body of work that really made me fall in love with painting again. I became obsessive about textures, making still images feel alive. 

14. Which piece in the show took the longest to perfect and why?

I’ve been working on the pieces for about a year; some of them have been painted over several times. Maybe the longest would be a painting named ‘Chorus’, which is installed in the Entrance to Floor 3 of Fortnums, because it’s an iteration of a painting I’ve been working on for three years. I started it during a residency in the countryside of central France at a bit of an emotionally crazy time in my life. I feel like it has come a long way with me.

15. What impression do you hope people get after seeing your show?

I hope they feel the emotions in them. The paintings aren’t really about anything other than feelings.