By Brown Chimezie
The body of works appear distinct from photographs but critical previews of the works for the solo exhibition of Eghosa Omoruyi, a Mechanical Engineering graduate of Petroleum Training Institute, Delta State, indicate that they are indeed fine art of photographs and not painting as thought by some of the viewers of the works.
The exhibition entitled Painterly took place at the magnificent Hunters Restaurant and Eatery, Abule Odu, Egbeda, Lagos, and featured up-and-coming models and performance artistes.
Omoruyi, whose popularity has soared as TobiDPhotographer, told journalists that his kind of notch as a photographer was rare, citing dictionary definition of the word as “a term that describes a set of qualities that are perceived as being distinct to the art of painting.”
The artist’s body of works on parade were those he produced in the last three years. “Some of them were new and have not been shown anywhere,” he said. He recalled that his liberal minded father had wanted him to finish his education before pursuing a career in photography, but he was smart to get his camera before his graduation.
On how he arrived at the theme of the exhibition, he noted, “It came by divine intervention. I was in church praying about the exhibition, and the word ‘painterly’ popped up, and it resonated with me. I searched it out, and noticed that it fitted with my line of photography.
“Ever since I began to pursue fine art photography as a career, people have seen my works and thought they were painting until I set the record straight, and they were surprised. I have had a lot of reviews from different social age groups in Nigeria and abroad, and their opinions are the same: that my work looks like a painting, even on Twitter and Instagram platforms where my works have enjoyed a large following. Truth is that they are actually photographs.
“I always love the old masters’ paintings, like the Haunch of Venison art, where I learnt to draw the line between a photograph and painting. I want to keep the legacy of the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and his ilks who keep their works in digital forms.”
Explaining why most of the works on display captured female models and nudity, he noted: “Technically, It is hard to photograph guys. The way I approach photography is different. I believe that the art of photography is to tell stories, and you find the storylines from females, through their body postures, especially from talented models.”
Omoruyi’s career in fine art photography began in 2018 with his camera and laptop acquired in 2019. With the equipment, he engaged in photo manipulation by getting news online and manipulating them.
In 2020, he was able to get some recognition from Instagram. As a result of that, his followers grew exponentially. “Since then, I’ve been getting positive feedback on my work. I have featured in some online exhibitions. Today, my works are shown in the United States of America,” he remarked.
Some of the images in the exhibition have some props. “I could see something and begin to imagine how to merge it to photograph in order to create a style. Most times, I work with some friends who are stylists and makeup artists; I tell them what I have in mind, how I want it to be portrayed, and we will sketch, and the results will be amazing.”
Amazingly, his works on display were titled in German language. “I studied German language at some point during the COVID-19 era, as well as in my spare time. I got fascinated by the language, and some of the old masters in painting were from Germany and Italy. So, I got intrigued by what they did, and decided to name my works in their language, though the images still relate to some of the things we do in Nigeria. In future exhibitions, I plan to pay more attention to Nigeria culture,” he said.