Omoyemi Ogedengbe

Omoyemi Ogedengbe was born in the Ogun state in western Nigeria. He exhibit his great interest in art during the early stage of his life and had his first formal art lesson where he won his first prize in a state art competition while in high school.

A graduate of fine and applied arts from the federal college of education and further bagged a bachelor of art degree in painting from the University of Lagos. He is a very dedicated contemporary Nigerian artist, humanist, and environmentalist who now works in his studio full-time.

Omoyemi is an anthropomorphic artist, which is "the art of referring to something that isn't human but acts like it is." His work only shows great apes like orangutans, gorillas, gibbons, chimpanzees, and bonobos. He painted them realistically as the old masters did in a style that is mostly based on baroque art, which is known for its great drama, rich, deep colors, and intense light and dark shadows.

His anthropomorphic/apes artworks are based on real-life events in Africa and the world in general. He is mostly concerned with rebranding and editing the black-and-white story by bringing them from every continent into the spotlight, addressing the problems and challenges they face, and creating positive images that will serve as a guide for the new generations both born and yet-to-be-born.

His art is made to give a voice to people who don't have the power to speak out in public about sensitive human issues, which he then skillfully modeled as figurative apes and anthropomorphism. When asked why he painted apes to look like humans. He says, "I need some attention from my people to get the messages I'm trying to send, the messages of being curious about us and our environment. I think using apes as a model to talk will do the job perfectly since they are humans' close cousins." Omoyemi's work has been admired and collected by well-known art experts and private collectors.

Submitted by Constance and Sons Gallery