It is a week since Olumdie Oresegun released his debut portraits as an artist, but people cannot stop talking about him. His pictures and that of his works have been the topic of discussion on Facebook, twitter and Instagram.
From celebrating the virtue of womanhood to highlighting the naked innocence of children or projecting the doggedness of the average Nigerian hustler, Oresegun’s paintings address contemporary issues. The Yaba College of Technology graduate is receiving plaudits from both friends and strangers. But where has Olumide Oresegun been? Who is him? Why did he wait this long to introduce his talent? Only he can surely answer these questions. At 35, things might be falling into places for him too late but it is better than never. Overnight, his followers had increased to 28,600. His last post five days ago recorded 1,209 likes and 8,974.
Here are some selected comments made by people on his Instagram page.
•ajifaye83 – Could you believe this is a painting? African talent I am glad it is getting recognised
•babebose – Your pictures are so realistic that it is hard to believe there are paintings. You are indeed talented.
•_tebo_ – This doesn’t look like a paintings. Crazy good. •bernice_frank – Seen your paintings like on every social media I log into. Lovely work you got there. You going places.
•cuteteawhai – This is just incredible with real life and everyday stories depicted. Had to search him out here.
•lalarh – I will be glad to know if you planning to have exhibition in the US. I will love to attend, amazing work brother.
•lilyofnigeria – You have great talent, God has truly blessed you. Keep up the good work.
•donyemighty – Who is Olumide Oresegun? Another Nigerian Banksy in the making? Another Picasso’s protégé? Another con artist? Another ghost? Oresgun is Nigerian artist whose ‘supersonic’ art works are now all over the internet.
While many people appreciate his raw talent, some people are still calling them unreal, bogus and fake. I have received several emails from concerned Nigerians to dig deeper into this guy. I personally emailed him three times to ask for his studio address but no response till date. Maybe the guy paints 24 hours per day? We need to see Oresegun in action, painting some art works to really believe he is not another con artist to use bread gather our chicken stew.
