Though we should acknowledge that over the last few decades, and maybe more so in recent times, there has been a shift in mindset brought about by globalization, a massive dose of social media influence, and the popularity & commercialization of Afrobeat has maybe given our African parents the prod they needed, said in a Nija accent “EH- HEH! SO, you wan be like Burna Boy, EH let’s make it happen”, jokes apart we’re ready for the shift, about time! Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully aware of the privilege surrounding this, and ultimately understand the conundrum that most face, it’s not easy and shouldn’t be taken for granted.

At some point most of us find something that undoubtedly resonates with us, and when speaking with Seni it’s clear that his interest in art grew as he fell more and more in love, establishing it as his passion [PSA: lean into your talents and skills, strive to break social/ cultural taboos that may hinder you]. Finally, acknowledging that art is his calling, he started to focus on how to harness this raw talent, as you can imagine Nigerian schools and education system doesn’t invest in art as a discipline as it would do with more traditional academic subjects. It is extremely challenging for young people to get the educational support to help guide them, none of this is new news to many of you reading this, but one of the takeaways I had from the conversation was establishing a “squad” (i.e. a creative coalition) of peers, of whom you can share information and support one another on your journey, something Seni and his artsy friends did and as a result learned the value of archiving their work and the time it takes to build a portfolio, as well as researching art schools, and the insane drawn out application process to Universities.

It’s interesting, I often find when the subject of race comes up, the conversation surrounding gender soon follows (maybe that’s just me), on the TPT IG page (@the_panblack_tone) I deliberately do a HIS & HER segment on each Episode, it is a commemoration in light & love to all of us. In today’s world we are learning to become more sensitive to gender fluidity and sexual orientations, our behaviors, choice of language and perception affects others and is something to reflect on. This is something that Seni learned very early on in his journey, where he was heavily critiqued by a peer of his work on the female form, which intimidated him, consequently he stopped painting women for a longtime however the conversation “forced me to really understand why do I want to talk about women through my art, what is my motivation to paint this woman and what is my motivation to paint her this way” coming to the realization that tough conversations need to happen, and will happen regardless, so long as he knows the meaning and reason why he created his art.

As an individual Seni has a gentle soul, from his demeanor, chill vibe, and low soft tone, is somewhat of a contrast to his work. I often find his creations to be dynamic, whether that’s his use of saturated colours, defined facial features, or use of textures are all far more dramatic than the calm energy of the artist himself. Naturally, we talked about colour and for both of us realized that we have rotating favorites, by way of our mood and/ or where we’re at in life.