35-year-old Olumide Oresegun sparked a huge sensation on social media in Nigeria with his art works.
His paintings are so life-like that people are now comparing some of his paintings to that of the famous Italian polymath, Leonardo da Vinci.
Until few months ago, Oresegun’s hyperrealistic oil paintings were unknown to most of the world. They took the Internet by storm after he posted a few photos of his new art to his Facebook page.
The hyperrealism created in the oil paintings makes his work seem so life like that it is hard to believe they aren’t. His work has fast gained momentum online.
Water is a recurring theme in his art because according to a popular adage in his native Yoruba language, “water has no enemy”.
The use of water gives a translucent effect and, he says, is “why it’s difficult for many people to do.”
Oresegun says those postings earned his enchanting, life-like work more than 200,000 shares on Facebook.
“I have been able to push my realism to a certain level at which people can reckon with, because most people don’t reckon with realism in Africa,” he says.
Oresegun says he became interested in art at the age of four and his mother encouraged by him by providing him with drawing books to practice his skill. He majored in Fine Art at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, graduating with a distinction. He started professionally creating art in 2005.
Oresegun says since his art went viral, he has received many international inquires about his work and from local galleries and collectors in his hometown of Lagos.
Currently, his work sells for between 200,000 and 500,000 naira ($1,000-$2,500). He hopes the momentum from social media will continue to bolster attention to his art and the people of Africa.
“I want my name to be a household name in Nigeria and in the whole world entirely,” says Oresegun. “Something great is coming out of Africa.”
CCTV’s Deji Badmus found him at his workstation and got a glimpse of his work.
