When you are drawing live, you don’t have time to be anyone but yourself: You don’t have time to think; you don’t have time to plan, you don’t have time to hesitate.” British visual artist Shantell Martin is reminiscing about the five years she lived in Japan, where she became immersed in the avant-garde VJing scene – where artists create work live. Her signature became sketching under an overhead projector while music blasted. She was eventually crowned a top-10 VJ in the world by DJ magazine in 2007, and her catalytic oeuvre has since led to collaborations with Kendrick Lamar, the New York City Ballet and brands from The North Face to Tiffany & Co.

Growing up in Thamesmead, south London, Martin, 42, stood out for being mixed-race among white siblings and classmates, but found the experience unexpectedly freeing. “I didn’t know it at the time, but that was my first passport,” she says; the dynamic has informed her creative style ever since. Camberwell College of Arts and Central Saint Martins propelled her to Japan in 2003 then New York in 2009. Here, savings depleted by immigration admin, and demoted to a realm where no one knew her name, Martin made the city her canvas, drawing on people and cars and putting on her own shows. She eventually caught the eye of the team at MoMA, who commissioned Martin for an event. A surprising cameo in American teen drama Gossip Girl amplified media attention, and today you can pick up works such as Shantell Martin neon editions ($2,400), porcelain candles ($500) and postcard books ($28) everywhere from The Whitney Museum to Barnes & Noble.