Artist Statement

I am a self-taught artist, based in Lagos, Nigeria, working primarily with acrylics and oils. My artistic journey commenced a few years ago and explores the correlation between my inner state, pondering on the curiosities of my mind, and the external world.

I focus primarily on portraiture, where the imaginative subjects that I paint contemplate on their emotive states. These subjects have a non-traditional skin tone palette, which I utilise to create a sense of alternate reality in the minds of my viewers. My technique combines palette knife and brush painting to create texture and a stark but organic fusion between lights and shadows.

Before every painting, I reflect on various themes that encompass the human condition, where I aim to convey a spectrum of emotions in my subjects' faces, demeanour, and settings.  This has led me to develop a visual style rooted in exploring perceptions of perfection and beauty.  I infuse this into my works through bits of exposed underpainting that I highlight to reflect the paradoxical relationship between beauty and imperfection.

My recent work is an exploration of dark monochromatic tones, with accents of contrasting or complimentary colours to reflect variations in my subject’s experience of life. These accents hinge on the philosophy of being aware of the minor unexpected occurrences that add dimension to the monotony of daily life.

As an artist, I am on a continually evolving journey to explore the scope of the human condition with expressions rooted in imagination. I aim to convey a sense of visual wonder with the hope that viewers of my work feel a connection to the portrayals of my subjects, leading them to contemplate on their own inner emotional states