Dunmininu Sonuga is an artist from Lagos, Nigeria. Although he hasn’t cemented his art style, he’s often drawn toward realism. Moreover, he is constantly experimenting, trying new techniques and creating whatever he feels driven to.
Dunmininu is currently 21 years old. He grew up in Lagos and has adored creating for as long as he can remember. Entering that space where he controls the path of his outcome, allowing his imagination to come to life. He’s been creating since primary school. However, he started making art professionally in 2021.
To Dunmininu, art is everything; it is his life. His understanding of art is more than just making an enjoyable painting or drawing. It is about the things that aren’t materialized. The emotions and feelings that are channelled into creating art. That is what it’s all about. Dunmininu considers just being able to call himself an artist; a privilege.
Additionally, he started making art to communicate his perspective of the world. Connecting with people is another goal. To him, creating is not necessarily about conveying a specific message. Instead, following the understanding of the human brain being wired to look for patterns using personal expense and memories, he believes art is subjective. The message he’d get from a piece of art might not be the same as anyone else. On top of that, he is at peace with whatever message a viewer picks from his work.
When it comes to creating, Dunmininu describes his process as very spontaneous. Depending on what he’s working on. He’ll ask himself a series of questions. “What does the viewer feel when they look at my work? How do I feel when I’m creating this work? How can I translate these feelings to the viewer in the best way?”
When discussing how long it takes to produce his creations, it’s not a fixed time frame. Some pieces take a few weeks to complete, and others take months. The size of the work also affects its completion time. He does not have a rigid routine or structure that factors in to control time or any factor around it.
In terms of inspiration, Dunmininu describes being inspired by many people. The first person he mentions is his mother. He recounts her as the most creative person he knows. Then he mentions the multidisciplinary creator, Virgil Abloh, saying he inspires him to approach his work uniquely. Other people he lists are artists; Gustav Klimt, Thomas Blackshear, Edward Hopper and John Singer Sargent.
Ultimately, Dunmininu describes his first solo exhibition last September as spectacular. He is currently working on a body of work since the beginning of the year. His aspiration is to share it very soon. To keep up with Dunmininu, his Instagram is @n1nu_ and his art page is @ninuworldwide.
