Osaru Obaseki

Presentation

Osaru Obaseki (b 1993) is a Nigerian mixed-media artist. She is a graduate of the University of Port Harcourt where she majored in Management Sciences. Her journey into the arts started professionally in 2017 at Nosona Studios under the Edo Global Art Foundation. Her artistic practice includes fluid painting techniques, sand (earth) infused with acrylic, iconographic representation along with human elements in paintings and bronze sculpture— using the ancient Benin "lost wax technique" as a way of synergizing two civilizations— the ancient and the modern. Osaru Obaseki has been featured in various media publications and documentaries like New York Times , BBC,DW documentary and exhibited with Rele gallery, Saboart Advisory & Amar Singh gallery, Cambridge University & Nosona Studios. She was a part of the Back to Base workshop with Goethe institute & Rele gallery and on the International Training Programme with the British Museum. Memories Unlived explores time, culture, identity, and imaginative sceneries using paintings, bronze sculptures and installations that draw inspiration from ancient Benin art, materials, architectural design and motifs. It highlights and documents the Benin red earth wall, which is going into extinction in modern-day Benin in Edo State, Nigeria. The work aims to serve as a medium for preserving various facets of Benin’s cultural identity.