SEMAKO

Born in Badagry,Lagos state in Nigeria on August 23rd,Samuel Semako Vittu is a Nigerian contemporary artist who self discovered his love for arts back in primary school and grew so passionate about it that it became a career choice while he was still in secondary school.

Being so good at it,he had both teachers and students going to him for assistance whenever they had to draw but because art wasn’t a subject back then,he decided to perfect it by training after school with an uncle of his who was already an artist. He further went on to study arts in college and majored in painting in his final year at University of Nigeria,Nsukka.

Semako’s love for animals which is widely portrayed in his works began when he used to visit his grandmother who was also an animal lover as a child during school breaks. He had to tie the cows in a nearby bush every morning so they can feed and also had to make sure to untie them in the evening to take them home. This is undoubtedly one of the major reasons why when decided to search for his own visual language,he figured he’d explore his interest in animals.

Taking notes from artists like Barkley Hendricks and Lyne Laponite,Semako is also inspired by the need to “preach the gospel” of animal preservation and create awareness for the preservation of breeds that are going extinct.

Having participated in a number of exhibitions nationally and internationally,Vittu’s most recent exhibition was a group show in February,2023 titled “Contemporary Redefined Africa Today” organized by Olyms Collection/Sothebys in Tel-Aviv,Israel.

I’m the next five years,Semako wants to be able to confidently know that his message on the need to understand the risk of the extinction of some animals and the needed solutions and factors being put in place to prevent this had been greatly received by his audience. He’ll also love to have his works placed in major museums around the world as it has always been one of his dreams to work with the likes of Gagosian and Tate.

As an artist,he is constantly working towards creating a spark in the viewers mind while producing the urgent need to question their knowledge and understanding about the growing rate of animal deaths by natural disasters or poachers.

Semako uses his art to create self awareness and also embed the human consciousness and thoughts into nonhuman life forms and this is because animals often provide a moral mirror for the reflection of the best and worst of the human race,so with each piece he creates ,he seeks to educate and create the hunger for more knowledge on animal preservation.