By Pascal Oparada
Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has received the 11-year-old prodigy, Kareem Waris Olamilekan, who made news when he drew the portrait of French President, Emmanuel Macron, at the New Afrika Shrine penultimate week.
Olamilekan was seen with the governor and his parents at the government house in Alausa on Thursday, July 12, 2018.
The boy made sensational headlines when he drew the portrait of Macron under two hours while people waited for the French President to arrive at the New Afrika Shrine.
Elated Macron praised the skills of Olamilekan and took to Twitter to appreciate his work. Macron later posted a video of him and Olemilekan and said, “Touched. Congrats to this young boy.”
Olamilekan is one of the youngest members of a growing community of artists in Lagos creating hyper-realistic charcoal and pencil paintings.
Hyperrealism is a genre of art that produces hand-drawn images resembling high-resolution photos.
Other young Nigerian creatives, like Arinze Stanley and Oscar Ukonu, are using their art to mirror real life.
It’s an aesthetic growing in popularity, among both the local art community and an avid global audience.
During the event organized by TRACE media, President Macron was treated to a display from top contemporary Nigerian visual artists Ndidi Emefiele, Abraham Onoriode Oghobase and Victor Ehikhamenor, curated by ArtX Lagos fair founder, Tokini Peterside.
