Israel Padonu

"An African contemporary Artist, I'm a 2017 graduate of Creative Arts, (Painting major). I'm from Lagos State, Nigeria (West Africa).
Overtime, I've experimented with and developed my style using a unique approach of combined references and recycled materials for my compositions, and interpret what...

"An African contemporary Artist, I'm a 2017 graduate of Creative Arts, (Painting major). I'm from Lagos State, Nigeria (West Africa).
Overtime, I've experimented with and developed my style using a unique approach of combined references and recycled materials for my compositions, and interpret what they convey as a unit.

I work majorly with acrylic paint and I've also incorporated the use of recycled materials of plastic bags, Ankara fabrics (African textile) and newspaper prints as contemporary elements to help convey my ideas best. I've explored silhouettes as a mean of brining my vague ideas to life, in a way that distinguished my works for its uniqueness. I've also embraced the colourful patterning that the African fabrics add to the dynamics of my works.

My inspirations are deeply rooted in my early days as an indigent black boy and today my works in focus is largely a tributary to Blackness; my stories are contemporary ways of elevating positive narratives about the black race in every parts of the world.
I approach every project with an opened mind, and this has helped me not just to push my own ideas only, but also to see each painting process as an opportunity to learn.

A new dimension to my works also entail my commentary on the negative effect of religion on me and my contemporaries, growing up in the same society. Religion has been a tool of neocolonialism in this part of the world, and I'm using my art to bring this darkness to light."