With oil, Imhonigie reconnects humanity with nature

Auchi Polytechnic-trained painter, Imoesi Imhonigie shares his preference for naturalism.

UK-based artist, Imoesi Imhonigie, has a preference for naturalism. In paintings of vegetation, humans and climate, he brings beauty to art lovers and his patrons who collect his works worldwide.

“The purpose for my art is helping reconnect humanity back to nature, which we have lost track of due to our busy day-to-day lives and urbanisation that has taken us away from nature and her healing powers,” the artist said during a chat about his works.

“If you are too busy to go to nature, I will bring nature to you in the comfort of your living room with my naturalism paintings. This is another positive way to connect with nature to receive its natural benefits,” he added.

Some of his works tell the story of rural and urban diversity in landscapes, streetscapes and other environment-related past sceneries that modernity has eroded in recent years. For Imhonigie, art comes with a calling of responsibility to humanity.

Imhonigie argued that nature and man are meant to stay together, noting that “attuning thyself with the Universal Force that governs the world should be respected. Among his works is a piece titled ‘The Green Land’, capturing an aerial view with mountains on the horizon that blend into the sky and the hazy atmospheric condition of the weather. The painting is a beauty to behold! “Different shades of blue are used in this painting to best express the feelings it connotes and a bite of warmth to complement the painting in poetic texture,” Imhonigie explained.

Among other paintings of Imhonigie with more depths in preserving nature and culture include ‘Cacophony of Nature’, a piece the artist explained as a “way of making a statement on human destruction of nature resulting to global warming and its impact on humanity.”

There is also ‘Obigbai’ (Traditional Drummer), which he calls Egbokobia, a traditional masquerade dance of the Unota people of Ayogwiri in Etsako, Edo State. “It’s an ancestral representation of life after death, and the painting is tittled after the major drum that controls the dance and its tune.”

Another of his work, ‘Harmattan’, celebrates the dry and cold weather of November and Nigeria’s first quarter of the year.

Like most Nigerian artists, Imhonigie’s stint with the country’s commercial capital, Lagos, always reflects in his art, specifically about urbanisation. As a business hub for West Africa, Lagos has its challenges, particularly in public transportation and small businesses. Imhonigie, in the painting titled ‘Old Oshodi Market’, revisits a central public transport axis of Lagos

notorious for disorderliness in an odd mix of traders and transporters on the roads and train tracks.

Taken from a bird’s eye, Imhonigie’s ‘Old Oshodi Market’ depicts a real-time situation in which the artist noted: “This is where you will see traders selling their market on the train tracks. This shows Lagosians can go the extra mile to survive. You will be greatly amazed by the way the sound of the approaching train will dismantle this bustling market.”

Imhonigie graduated from the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, with a Higher National Diploma in painting and general art, majoring in painting in 1999. Upon graduation, he embarked on a full-time career as a studio artist. He later followed up with a four–year residency that commenced in 2005 at the National Gallery of Art, Lagos (Nigeria). Imhonigie was an executive member of the Lagos State Chapter of the Society of Nigeria Artist (SNA) as the financial secretary. He is an environmental campaigner with his works depicting a variety of landscapes.

Imhonigie’s paintings are influenced by nature; it is the philosophical basis of his paintings. He also generally captures the co-relationship between the environment and humanity. His works also express African culture’s dynamism and vibrant nature, including traditional religions and urbanisation. Imhonigie’s works are predominantly oil on canvas, and he paints with a pallet knife.

Imhonigie has exhibited widely, and his work is popular among public and private collections. He is a member of the Nigeria Artist Society, UK and the Society of Nigeria Artists (SNA). Imhonigie participated in the Sky Landscape Artist of The Year Competition 2020/2021 and got to the second heat.

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