Soul Element: Charcoal and Graphite

Artist Statement

As a visual artist, Damilola Olusegun works with graphite and charcoal on canvas and sometimes paper. Most times, she is questioned about why she doesn’t work with colors. She developed interest in such a medium, but she feels a greater connection with her art piece when she handles graphite and charcoal. Also, her works are mostly in huge sizes like six ft.; she works on huge sizes because she feels free to express herself on a larger scale. 

Through her artworks, she is able to pass on messages without writing an essay. Her subject matter mostly deals with emotions and self-discovery. She connects with music, books, people, her environment, and situations around her vicinity before creating any art piece. And of course, she keeps her music close to her while working, which adds more to her inspiration.

Damilola Olusegun was born in Ogun state in Nigeria in 1997. Having grown up with both parents, including her father, who is a huge fan of creativity, her love for art grew tremendously. Throughout her life, Damilola has always been fascinated by art and how it is created to interpret and represent our mindsets. The interest was cultivated during her teenage years when her father discovered her talent and further pushed her to develop her skill, which she took into practice since 2017.

Damilola has also trained artists specializing in her category of art, in both offline and online teachings. She trains these artists in order to help them foster the same enthusiasm that she has for art.

She has participated in exhibitions both home and abroad, including a solo exhibition in Ogun State, Nigeria, and other group exhibitions in London at Art Number 23, The Old Biscuit Factory, and Sports Bar and Grill. Her work appeared in another exhibition at The Thought Pyramid Centre in Ikoyi, Lagos State, and Nigeria by iDesign Art. She also showcased her work on Off the Cost’s website.

Damilola was nominated as the best young visual artist of the year in 2019 by The Everyday Chapter and she won her category. Her works have also been featured as cover pages in the art publications Average Art and A5.

Damilola lives in Sagamu, Ogun state, Nigeria where she owns a studio.