What is the first thing you see in the morning?
My two adorable cats, Agatha and Gerald, curled up at my feet.
Describe the view from where you are right now.
The meeting of blue, tan and green along the coastline through an aeroplane window on a flight from Accra to Lagos.
Is there a view you can’t quite forget?
I went to Japan earlier this year and will never forget watching the sunset over Lee Ufan’s Relatum – Point at the Lee Ufan Museum in Naoshima®. The way the light moved across the curved steel and stone, melting into the Seto Inland Sea, was transcendent.
2A2D9YX Naoshima island (??) Seto Inland Sea - Lee Ufan Museum
Is there a particular artwork you always return to?
Manet’s Olympia – the layers of meaning have kept art historians debating for generations, offering a window into history. I also always return to Kerry James Marshall’s Studio and Carrie Mae Weems’ Kitchen Table Series – two artists who will be looked back on 150 years from now to understand the history of our own time.
What was the last film you watched and loved?
Sinners.
What sound do you wake up to?
My 6am alarm.
What sound would you like to wake up to?
Birdsong.
What gets you dancing?
90s hip-hop and R&B, and good friends.
Which singer do you never tire of hearing and why?
Stevie Wonder®. My dad would play his music throughout the house every Saturday morning. Stevie has been with me throughout my life, in moments both big and small.
‘My dad would play Stevie Wonder music throughout the house every Saturday morning. Stevie has been with me throughout my life’
2XFCFGF Picture cover of the 12 inch single version of Fun Day by Stevie Wonder (from the Jungle Fever soundtrack) which was released in 1991.
Which smell takes you back to childhood?
Jo Malone’s Pomegranate Noir – it was always my mother’s favourite perfume, and I still keep a bottle amongst my collection.
What do you smell of today?
Yesterday I was visiting artist Ibrahim Mahama at his Red Clay studio, filled with his installations created from salvaged 19th- and early 20th-century wooden boxes, shelving, archives and more. That scent – of aged wood, dust and history – lingers with me today.
What smell makes you feel at home?
My husband’s cooking, which usually begins with garlic sizzling in olive oil.
What is your earliest scent memory?
The smell of my grandmother’s house in Saint Croix. I couldn’t tell you exactly what it was – perhaps a mix of salt air and wood – but I remember how the air itself instantly relaxed me, so different from New York.
Describe a dish that’s stayed with you.
The tower of torrijas my husband and I had in place of a traditional cake at our wedding in Ribera del Duero.
What is the taste of winter?
My Aunt Aretha’s mac and cheese – it marks the beginning of the holiday season.
Olive or a twist?
As long as it’s gin, either.
What’s your go-to dinner party dish?
My husband is an incredible chef so I don’t cook often. But if I am ever on my own, oven-roasted swordfish with rosemary, lemon and cherry tomatoes.
Silk or cashmere?
Silk.
Marble or wood?
Marble.
Favourite piece of furniture at home?
I adore antique furniture and hunting through shops in Tetbury and Kempton Antiques Market. My current favourites are a chaise from Kempton and a 19th-century armchair from Brownrigg.