Ponder the relationship to the inner self, with Osinachi, in his newest awe-inspiring artworks titled ‘Duologue’ and ‘Room 632’. Osinachi channels his signature Microsoft Word-created masterful storytelling-backed style in these pieces, some of the artists ‘most personally intimate’ work yet. ‘Duologue’ and ‘Room 632’ serve not only as self-portraits of the acclaimed artist but also as a mirror to be held up to the viewer's own lives, a much-needed reminder of the humanness behind our daily interactions and what we consume.
Learn more about this visionary digital artist and get introspective with ‘Duologue’ and ‘Room 632’ by Osinachi in this installment of Behind the Art by Exchange Art.
‘THE ORIGIN’
Osinachi is a self-taught digital artist based in Lagos, Nigeria and is widely considered to be the first African NFT artist. Known for creating contextually and visually powerful digital artworks within the Microsoft Word program, Osinachi developed an interest in digital tools during a desktop publishing class and chose Microsoft Word for its limitations, which he saw as a creative challenge. This choice has helped to define his unique style within the digital art space and beyond. “My journey as an artist who works with Microsoft Word began over 16 years ago.” Osinachi fondly recalls while sitting down with the Exchange Art team, “first it was a hobby, but once I was done with my university education in 2014, the reality of adulting hit me, I decided to pursue art professionally.” A mere few years later, in late 2018, Osinachi would discover the advent of the crypto art space and his trajectory would take an incredible turn fueled by his re-invigorated passion and inspiration from the burgeoning technological movement.
Osinachi’s artistic endeavors actually began with his pursuits to become a writer, however as the artist began to explore other digital tools, eventually Microsoft Word, his time for writing became less and less. “First, I see myself as a storyteller.” He mentions; “Whether it's stories about the past, present or future; real or imagined, I believe that stories are an important tool for reminding us of how we may be different from each other, yet very much connected.” He continues, “I figured that since I was not doing much writing anymore, I needed to develop a visual style that is people-centered; and this people-centering is what I do through figurative portraiture.” Osinachi’s signature style was not an overnight process the artist reiterates, “What many may not know is that it took me years and years of experimenting and trial and error to get to the style I am known for today. My early works are a testament to this,” he states.
Osinachi's artwork extends beyond personal reflections to act as a critique against the biases and stereotypes targeting Africans and their diaspora. His digital medium allows him to explore and represent issues of cultural, sexual, and racial identities, infusing his pieces with both personal narratives and broader social commentary. “My work explores personal experiences within a technological environment,” he mentions, “It is these experiences that I tell as stories through my work and I am grateful to have the blockchain as a channel to share them with people across the world.”
In his 6 years exploring crypto art, Osinachi has met some wonderful people who have helped shift his perspectives and evolve his career as an artist. “In my interactions with fellow artists to collectors, technical hands and everything in between, one thing I hold close to my heart is that relationship building is super important”, he continues with a smile on his face, “And this is why I am so crazy about the idea of collaborations – they bring people together to use their strengths to supplement where others are lacking.” He believes that through relationship building and collaboration, not just from artist to artist but broader than that, that crypto art will become stronger and more resilient as a whole. “And I say this as someone who knocked on countless doors,” he reflects, “when I made the decision to go pro but my work was ignored just because it's digital, as a digitally native artist the NFT space felt like the natural habitat for me,” Osinachi explains with a palpable passion. “It felt like home,” he added, “now, this home has made my work globally relevant even in traditional art spaces.”
In addition to having his artwork in the collections of several major collectors in the crypto art ecosystem, Osinachi has worked with international galleries such as Kate Vass Galerie, Galerie Nagel Draxler, and Elsewhere, among several others. He has exhibited at 1:54 African Art Fair, ArtX Lagos, Art Basel in Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach, Modal at the School of Digital Art (SODA) Manchester Metropolitan University, and more. His work can be seen in the permanent collections of The Toledo Museum of Art and Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Osinachi hope’s through his art he can continue to not only open doors for others, especially African artists, but also be a bridge from the traditional to crypto art worlds.
‘DUOLOGUE’ & ‘ROOM: 632’
‘DUOLOGUE’ & ‘ROOM: 632’ are representations of self-portraits in ways that are more intimate and more personal to Osinachi. In the past, Osinachi’s art has told some of his personal stories through the lens of self-portraiture, but never like this before he mentions, “They represent windows into how I am when I am by myself, and how I feel when I'm in my deepest state of introspection.” He continues, “and I like to think that they also capture this humanness beyond myself as the artist and the muse, to the point that viewers can read the works into their own lives too.”
Osinachi’s process involves three main stages: vision conception, reference photo shoot and the actual painting on Microsoft Word. “For "Room: 632", it was almost the same process as most of my other works: I wanted to create a work that captures solitude on a cool morning in a hotel room and have the work also captures my affinity for nudity when I am alone; I took a selfie in front of the large window overlooking the high-rise buildings in the city, I got to work painting on Word using that selfie as my reference image, while being creative with my use of colors.” Room: 632 is largely inspired by when the artist first arrived in Toledo for his residency at the Toledo Museum of Art. His hotel room number was 632 - a room with a beautiful view of downtown Toledo. “As an artist, you want to mark significant episodes in your practice,” he adds. “My Toledo episode was refreshing, to say the least. The works I made while in the US during the residency are marked with my use of the colon in the titles.” At the end of the day, Osinachi wants people to know that ‘Room: 632’ is about self in relation to others. “I want viewers to understand that "Room: 632" is about preparing oneself in isolation (as symbolized by the nudity) before leaving the room, fully clothed to meet the world head-on.”
The process of creation differs slightly with ‘DUOLOGUE’ and ventures into more vulnerable realms of creation even yet. “The piece demanded first that I had to find someone who was willing to be vulnerable enough to pose nude alongside me, and I had to take multiple photos, each one capturing us as a pair in various poses.” Osinachi believes that nudity has ancient and primordial roots with a deep background in academia but wants viewers to not look upon this work in that lens. “‘Duologue’ is about having that critical conversation with yourself, and everyone should aspire to that. If that is something anyone who comes across the work has not done before or for a long time, I hope that the piece will inspire them to take that step.” Osinachi’s art background comes into play again through the inspiration of Baroque-styled artworks. “The realness and sincerity of the poses were crucial for this piece because my intention was to create a piece that captures the Baroque technique of drama and movement,” he continues, “to create a feeling of a beginning, a middle, and a climax all at once. Getting down to painting the piece was uniquely challenging in that I had to be conscious of scale for each subject in relation to the other subject.” Osinachi goes on to mention the various technical limitations that arose in his chosen medium of Microsoft Word, “I also had to contend with Word freezing and almost crashing on me multiple times because of the various elements I was loading into it in order to properly capture my initial vision.”
Explore the inner self with the artworks of Osinachi, DUOLOGUE’ & ‘ROOM: 632’ are now available on Exchange Art as the artist's first works on Solana. As a believer in breaking barriers and living life without limitations, he hopes that the continued growth and accessibility of Solana leads more to enjoying this very special artwork.
Enjoy the art works here.
