“My art aims to help reconnect humanity back with nature which we have abandoned due to our busy daily lives and urbanisation that has taken us away from nature and her healing powers,” painter, Imoesi Imhonigie, began.
After training at The Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, Imhonigie practised in Nigeria and joined professional associations, including the Society of Nigeria Artists (SNA), before relocating to the UK.
Though he has since changed base, naturalism remains his preference. In paintings of vegetation, humans and climate, he brings beauty to art lovers and patrons who collect his works worldwide.
“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 continued.
Some of Imhonigie’s works highlight rural-urban diversity in landscapes, streetscapes and other environment-related past sceneries that modernity has eroded. For the artist, art comes with a responsibility to humanity.
He explained that nature and man are meant to stay together and 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. “Different shades of blue are used in this painting to best express the feelings it connotes and a bit of warmth to complement the painting in poetic texture,” Imhonigie explained.
Other paintings highlighting nature and culture include ‘Cacophony of Nature’, the artist explained is 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. It is named after the major drum that controls the dance and its tune,” he said.
Another work, ‘Harmattan’, celebrates November’s dry, cold weather, which often extends into the year’s first quarter.
Like most Nigerian artists, Imhonigie’s stint with the country’s commercial capital, Lagos, always reflects in his art. He specially spotlights 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. ‘Old Oshodi Market’ depicts a real-time situation.
The artist noted: “This is where you will see traders selling their market on the train tracks. You will be 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.
Nature influences Imhonigie’s paintings; 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.
The widely exhibited, whose works are in public and private collections, is a member of the Nigeria Artist Society, UK. He participated in the Sky Landscape Artist of The Year Competition 2020/2021 and got to the second heat.
