Biography

Joshua Michael Adokuru is a self-taught artist who started with hyperrealism in 2017. He studies computer science at the National Open University of Nigeria (N. O. U. N) Abuja. He found his voice in using his current medium just this year- working in strings, nails and acrylic on board, which he uses to represent Black human figures. "I try to show how beautiful and significant the Black melanin is so I use unusual mediums to make that happen.” Joshua started drawing in 2017 for his first portrait commission, which made him believe in a future for him in art. “My environment and people around me inspired me to paint. I love to capture the facial expression of the people I paint (create) because facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication. I've had many memorable responses to my work which motivate me to push myself further. With the works I made for the exhibition, I was trying to convey how I saw the emotional state of the individual to the observers. The man in the painting is Will Smith; the other is a friend of mine.” He admires a few artists such as Bisa Butler, Jordan Casteel, Amoako Boafo and Collins Obijiaku.