LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Oluwapelumi Shemuel is a visual artist, photojournalist, indigenous storyteller, and art journal researcher.
The artistic techniques used by Shemuel keep evolving. He is continually changing the definition of photography as an image and as a tangible object.
Fundamentally, what he does is experiment and develop his own distinct viewpoint of the world as seen through his lens.
“I veer away from the customary sites in search of the strange and offbeat,” he says.
Shemuel’s creative output is founded on his insatiable curiosity, thorough preparation work, and ongoing exploration of the medium’s technical and aesthetic potential. He derives his visual language from his local surroundings, which reflects a really human emotion, familiarity, empathy, friendship and intimacy.
His body of work includes his abstract works, visual arts on paper and in space, depictions of the sublime, society, and spiritually, as well as works that are both analytical and sensual with a keen awareness of social and political issues.
The method taken by Shemuel may be interpreted as a call for liberation and an invitation to interact with others in a courageous manner while maintaining an open mind.
Artist’s Statement
I thought it is great to publish this exhibition of a few original works of my visual art under the collection name “The Truth”.
These contemporary fine arts were created using photographs I took myself. I have always utilized visual art to communicate my deep emotions and interactions with the people who are most important to me, such as my family and friends, and social relations with strangers I meet, as well as exploring abstraction and experimentation, thus leaving space for the mysterious and for the imagination.
I’m surrounded by my visual works of art, but I keep them to myself. No one should ever set themselves limitations.
As a result, I’m urging people to believe what they see in this work, showing how subjectivity can live up to its revolutionary potential in the process. You don’t need hierarchies to determine what is right, legal, or lovely.
Each has the option to take what they see with their own eyes and appropriate it. Once you’ve practiced it, it becomes simpler to see manipulation, withstand it, and remain receptive to fresh ideas. We are always free to observe the world as we please.
The truth is hidden there.
Exhibition:
My aesthetic is done in both brilliant hues and monochromatic. This collection is the first time my visual art works, which depict the many characters as I see them, whether objects or people, have been seen by the general public.
