Congratulations to Tochukwu Darlington Obiakonwa for earning his place as a finalist in the 6th Edition!

WHO ARE YOU?

My name is Tochukwu Darlington Obiakonwa and 2chuxs is my nickname, a coinage from my first name Tochukwu which I sign on my finished drawings. I am a self-taught artist from Nigeria and sometimes I think that I have always been an artist even in my mother’s womb. I studied banking and finance at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia state Nigeria. Growing up on the streets of Orile, a lower-class suburb in Lagos Nigeria was a pure mix of fun and discipline. My immediate environment contributed immensely to my life as an artist. My playmates, siblings and childhood friends all played a role both consciously and subconsciously.

 As a child at say age four, I would experiment and make objects with clay soil and would also pick up tiny little objects from debris and make play objects with them. Blank papers, colours, or any writing material capable of leaving an impression on a blank surface literally gave me goosebumps; I mean that I get excited each time I have a paper and pen to draw. Then I would replicate comic characters from comic books such as Supa Strikas, Justice League, Pinocchio and many others.

My parents did not discourage me from drawing, but they never really paid much attention until more recently. Today; I do personal and commissioned works using graphite and charcoal on paper. Currently, I do a 9-5 job in the Fin-tech industry alongside my art.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BEGIN DRAWING?

Well, I think that drawing has always been a part of me, and I took drawing more seriously after I gained admission into the university. Thanks to all the amazing artists I met along the way; Moses Ode, Jay Jay Arts of blessed memory and many others. I get my inspiration basically from all that’s going on around me. The need to express me through art inspires me a lot.

YOUR DRAWINGS SEEM TO BE SOLELY BLACK AND WHITE, CAN YOU DISCUSS WHY THAT IS?

 I have only used graphite and charcoal more than any other medium and that’s because I find it more convenient and available, but at some point, I have tried ballpoint pen, oil paint, poster colours, pastel and coloured pencils. I also add a mixture of colour blends to my commissioned drawings as I find it pleasing to the eyes. I certainly would explore these art media more in the nearest future.

CAN YOU DISCUSS THE INSPIRATION AND THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND “NESCIENCE”?

Nescience is part of my most recent drawing series titled; “Blessing in disguise. “It is a drawing that I started and completed during the Covid19 and lockdown period. It was such a great time for me creatively as I had more focused time on myself and my art. The period inspired my choice of a drawing like that, including the title to a very great extent, as the drawing itself, is about the absence of knowledge, Knowledge of what would happen in the next minute. Of course, not even one person foresaw the advent of Covid19 or the worldwide lockdown that ensued.

CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH THE PHYSICAL CREATION OF “NESCIENCE”?

My elder brother Berchman who’s a photographer had come to the house and helped capture my muse who happens to be my younger brother Eze.

I tweaked the best choice reference picture a little to achieve a pitch dark contrast effect. The drawing shows a really dark side on the right and the fairly dark side with disjointed writings on the left, each side depicting the absence of knowledge and knowledge itself respectively.

It took about one month to complete after drawing for say 7-8hours each day in the week. I drew the outlining sketch first after which I shaded the human figure with dark-grade graphite before applying charcoal on the background to avoid smudging. I had fun all through the process.

WHAT IS THE MESSAGE YOU WANT TO SEND TO YOUR AUDIENCE WITH YOUR WORK?

Every time I draw, be it personal works or commissioned drawings I just want my audience to appreciate the aesthetics of art and the hard work put into achieving it. More so, I like to say that my works will centre around mental health, socio-cultural and political issues, religion and basically every ideology that I deem fit and so I wish that my audience connects to it personally and on their own level.

WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS YOUR MOST SUCCESSFUL PIECE TO DATE? WHY?

I would say “NESCIENCE” for winning the Boynes Finalist Award.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR BIGGEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE DURING THE PROCESS OF CREATING YOUR DRAWINGS?

When I started out, I made lots of mistakes, I started some drawings all over even after going halfway. But you know drawing just like the word ‘Insanity’ (In a good light) means; doing a thing over and over again and expecting a different result which usually comes.

I never really sat down to think about my style as an artist but I think it has built and developed itself over time. The idea to introduce writings in my drawings is one that came to me while I was working on a drawing, it wasn’t planned or thought of ab initio. I am now creating works along the genre of hyperrealism while creatively introducing writings; This I intend to develop and explore for a much longer time

CAN YOU DISCUSS YOUR BIGGEST SUCCESS SINCE STARTING YOUR ARTISTIC JOURNEY?

Every completed drawing is a success. But very notably for me so far was; my participation in a pre-convocation exhibition organized by my alma mater five (5) years ago. I consider that a big success because of the circumstances that led to my participation. The opportunity came at a very critical time in preparing for my degree exams, I had so much academic activity to do but my instincts would not just let me miss it. I am particularly proud of the feat because at the time I was able to produce five solid drawings within a short time and exhibit them afterwards. I was also able to scale through academically which means winning on both sides.

WHAT PROJECTS ARE YOU WORKING ON CURRENTLY? CAN YOU DISCUSS THEM?

Currently, I am working on the last piece of my most recent series. I don’t have a title for it yet but it’s about the ideology of allowing a single thing to deter us from realizing the possibilities on the bright side of life. The drawing shows the muse covering their right sight with a single finger preventing them from realizing possibilities. I have depicted this with the same flow and style as the other drawings in the series; (Nescience and Subjectivity).

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM PROJECT OR PIECE YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH?

Have my solo exhibition one day, do really large drawings and go for residencies.

LASTLY, I LIKE TO ASK EVERYONE WHAT ADVICE THEY WOULD GIVE THEIR FELLOW ARTISTS/PHOTOGRAPHERS, WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE?

“Do what you can, with what you have, and where you are”; this works all the time for me. Most artists would wait until they have an art studio or certain type of work tools before they create their priced art. But my advice is for them to start anyways and they would get inspired along the way.

To view more of Tochukwu Darlington Obiakonwa’s work

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