By Henry Akubuiro
Oluwole Omofemi’s new portrait of Queen Elizabeth of England is one single artwork that is currently drawing attention to Nigerian art. But recognition didn’t just appear on the horizon for the talented artist raised in the ghetto of Ibadan, Nigeria. 
Patty Chidiac-Mastrogiannis, the founder of Alexis Galleries, Victoria Island, Lagos, told newsmen during a recent reception for the trailblazing artist, ever since she met Omofemi, who started brightly in 2012, she believed in him, as she traded and pushed his artworks.
“Omofemi is now a shining star,” she declared. “He did his first solo exhibition with me in 2019 and featured in many group exhibitions. So we are celebrating him; we are celebrating his return from the UK. He did a portrait of the queen of England and Nigerianised it with a black hair and ankara fabric,” she said.
Omofemi’s fascination with afro hair started in 2016 during a visit to the beauty salon of a female acquaintance in Ibadan only to see her moody: many of her customers were no longer coming, for they were now wearing natural hair.
That piqued Omofemi’s curiosity, so he started taking a second look at some of the old pictures his grandfather took with bushy afro hair as a young man and subsequently engaged him on the afro fashion trend and movement by blacks decades ago.
Omofemi prayed about what the future held for the afro hair art he wanted to embark on, and “there were a lot of voices,” he recalled. “I am this kind of artist who wants to try something new, because I want to have different experiences, because I believe these are part of the things that make life more beautiful. So I started something on the afro,” trying to reflect the colour of his skin.
Surprisingly, when he posted one of the afro works he did, during a social media challenge initiated by a colleague, a Lebanese in Lagos was fascinated and ordered for it, paying handsomely in dollars. That 2017 experience marked a watershed in his career.
Afterwards, the founder of Alexis Galleries commissioned him to do three afro hair paintings. He also got a few other commissions. Since then, it never rains but pours. Omofemi has had some incredible auction results recently internationally. Little wonder, when Tatler magazine, a leading UK magazine, wanted an African artist who could paint the queen to mark her 70th year on the throne, he was singled out for the job from the pool of African talents.
“I was excited when I was contacted to handle the project,” he recalled. “I said, ‘O God, why me of all the artists in Nigeria and one from the ghetto’?”
It was going to be a test of creativity, a cultural shift for him to paint a white woman with white hair. Before now, his signature was painting black women with afro hair.
After reflections, it occurred to him that Queen Elizabeth welded so much power and fame as a young lady during the colonial times when she had a black hair, so he opted to depict power, strength and liberty for women folk in his painting of the queen with a black hair.
Before achieving that feat, he had to isolate himself from his wife to get inspiration and avoid distractions. “I told her I was not painting for myself but for my children to see and the future generations,” he recalled. “At the end of it all, I was able to paint my truth as an artist, and, when I submitted it, it was accepted.”
To cap it all, he was invited to Buckingham Palace, London, where he met with Prince Charles. From the look of things, he might end up as the only African artist to paint the queen before the 96-year-old leaves the earth.
His mentor, Ebenezer Akiola, is delighted how far Omofemi had come since that day he rang him for mentorship many years ago. He noted, “The kind of global attention he has had is unprecedented. I have been in this business for a long while, but the sales records he is posting, even the old timers can’t get it.
“The value of his work is so high, yet people buy— it has never happened before at all. Now, a lot of people want to be an artist because of his success. He is a real success story. His exhibitions sell out even before he opens them.” Meanwhile, the portrait of the queen is valued at over 20 million naira.