Linicomn Richardson

Born in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria in 1989. He lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria.

When he was 10, he discovered his passion for drawing and ever since then, has been practicing art. Whilst growing up, he was exposed to art that was rooted in the cultural festivals of his hometown.
The Egungun festival was one of them and he was most fascinated by the detailing on the different paintings of masquerades done at the entrance of each participating family house. He was also intrigued by the Egungun head-dress with all its flamboyant patterns and the costumes to match, worn by the participants.

Olalekan’s current style can best be described as semi-abstract art, which brings in the movement called cubism. With his works, he tells African stories with the infusion of African motifs and patterns.
He is a graduate of Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma in Painting. 

Today he is predominantly inspired by Yoruba culture and the ills of society. As his ethnic tribe is Yoruba, and Yoruba Language being his mother tongue, he strongly feels it deserves more recognition in his society. This stems from what he has come to understand as his people’s desperate desire to communicate in another man’s language – English, thereby not being confident in speaking his native language anymore. You will notice also he is influenced by Yoruba morals and dress code, his work echoes an important message he wishes to address, namely about issues bordering on socio-economic segregation and his belief that, the only way his community can move forward is for the different levels of social classes to coexist.

Another common thread throughout his work is the love of “Family”. The bond between a child and his/her parents has an immense impact on the future of the child because, parents are supposed to be role models for their children.
He wants his art to be a means of uniting people of all social classes within society, irrespective of the past, present or current status within that community. It is his hope that, his art will spark a discussion leading to a unification of people and a foundation upon which dispense with a class system at all.