Lawyartist
Moulded by his childhood love of 1990’s cartoons and pop culture, Lawyartist (“L”) is a Nigerian pop artist, who draws inspiration from nostalgia and his everyday life.
Lawyartist is also a firm believer in frequent experimentation and attention to detail. This has led him to develop various styles across multiple art mediums, ranging from standard illustration to three dimensional painting. His work is known for thick lines, strong colour choices and visual weight.
In September 2014, after a friend noticed him pursuing an art career alongside being a lawyer, said friend gave him the moniker Lawyartist, which has stuck ever since.
On a personal mission to tip the skewed perception of Nigerian art being synonymous with trauma, L creates only from his place of fun and joy. The result is carefree yet meticulous work, often based upon contemporary ideas and themes.
“The news is already an ever-present reminder of what’s not right across the world, I do not want my art to leave its audience sad or heavy. If I address social issues in my work, I prefer to be playful and not too on the nose. I like my art quirky.”
Top image: Mr. Kensho - Volume 3 - Tweet not Available Or Is This Really A Priority. Digital Art.
“I made this illustration as the fourth in a series of comic style illustration. It is not an actual comic book but each piece addresses a topic in a way that my original character Mr. Kensho would interact with it. The 4th one here, addresses a period in time when the Nigerian government banned Twitter for many months and therefore took away the youth's voice and ability to quickly express their opinions and displeasures.
Mr, Kensho representing the average Nigerian youth here, is muted and therefore not coloured while a rainy cloud of problems hangs over his head. Instead of doing nothing, takes up the can to employ graffitti, a weapon of expression.”
Image 2: I get leg. Digital Art.
“An automatic doodle I made and coloured digitally. It has some of my favourite characters from comics and cartoons.”
Image: No Words. Digital art.
“This is based on a popular Nigerian protester in 2020 called Flag Boy. The military had just stormed the protest site in Lekki and killed innocent Nigerian youth. This was my way of documenting this horrific events.”