Capturing the true essence of reality
Capturing the true essence of reality
Nigerian artist Amoo Emmanuel explores moments in time through a subject's vulnerability and emotion.
It is said that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master any one thing. That is just over a year if you work 24 hours, seven days a week with no breaks. Naturally, it takes the average person several years, if not decades, to become a true master of their craft.
In just seven years, this self-taught, hyper-realism artist, Amoo Emmanuel, has grown in his work and now shows in exhibitions all around the world. Growing up in Ibadan, Nigeria, he attended All Souls High School and is currently completing a degree in Architecture from the University of Lagos.
Amoo’s most recent works are contemporary surrealist mixed-media pieces aiming to capture the essence of each subject in that moment in time. Typically a single subject in each composition, they look directly out to the viewer, their detailed features and expression contrasted by a simple background. Amoo writes,
“My art delves into the tenderness, emotions, vulnerability, and whole reality of my subjects in relation to me and society. My recent work has been inspired by nature and colorful scenes, which contrast with the essence of the truth I see. My art struggles with the establishing of new environments in which my study's self-expression is permitted at any time.”
Amoo works with the gallery Band of Vices, an art and culture company based in Los Angeles that provides a platform to overlooked communities. His work has been in many of their past exhibitions, such as “GAZE” and “THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS,” alongside artist Monica Ikegwu (featured earlier this month, read here.)
Amoo is showing some of his latest works this weekend with Band of Vices in collaboration with the Harlem Fine Arts Show at The Glasshouse in New York City. The pieces will be exhibited Friday Feb. 24th - Sunday Feb. 26th.
In April 2020, Amoo was part of a project called Art of the Isolation, a collection of works created in the beginning of quarantine by artists around the world. Amoo’s hyper-realistic charcoal illustrations depict faces that are being or have been altered. He writes,
“My work is conceptual hyper realism that specialises in the use of charcoal and graphite. It both explores and triggers the deeper realm of human tenderness and also how reality is often miscommunicated.
In my most recent series, “Altered Existence”, I tried to portray how the world is being redefined by factors around us that we are not always cognizant of.”
Whether in his realism illustrations or the mixed-media pieces, Amoo uses his art to contemplate big questions surrounding things like self-fulfillment and ambition. He writes in an Instagram post alongside his piece “Viva,”
“Goals and aspirations are insatiable lol. After achieving a great feat, you’re looking forward to a new one. Makes me think, how else can anyone truly find a long lasting sense of self-fulfillment?
Maybe it’s “the process”, right? I mean, most of us are usually carried away by a feeling of euphoria during the pursuit of our dreams.
Conceivably, “the process” should be treated with more level of intent.
It’s time the embrace the process. Self-pinch regularly, be present in today and don’t forever live in what is to come, Value time spent with friends, family and loved ones, celebrate EVERY win, bask in your present glory a little longer fr. Don’t be blinded by a false sense of long-term reward. All these might just make tomorrow worth it.”
Follow Amoo on Instagram @skhebs for more updates on his work and check out the Band of Vices website here to discover more artists and upcoming exhibitions.