Raised in Lagos, Emma Odumade always drew cartoons and made collages on paper. As he continued to create work, his interest in bringing attention to the world around him, especially the young people in his community, grew.
Odumade’s vibrant portraits and self-portraits, the latter of which he takes each year at the end of the year, reflect a sense of unity, a search for self, love and anticipation of the future. These particular works came about as “an attempt to have a diary – I never had one,” he says. “I had to rediscover myself; looking at myself from an angle – from a third eye. My art became a mirror, through which I was a reflection.”
Portraits serve as a record of activities and experiences, document the artist’s observations and refer to history and culture to tell personal stories. He combines images with other media such as charcoal, acrylic, ink and recycled previous sketches, invoking what he calls ‘stamps of moments’: a collection of memories viewed through the spectrum of past, present and future.
“I love that I can reference historical events, stolen African artifacts and my humble beginnings through a photo,” Odumade tells Colossal. He collages the backgrounds of many compositions with numerous black and white images painted with tea to give an antique look. “The vintage brown look of the old photos reminds viewers [the] past and to give a ‘test of time’ feeling.”
Five new works will be presented by Unit London at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London, running from October 10 to 13. Discover more of Odumade’s practice at Instagram.
