Strictly Beautiful

Godwin Rotimi talks about his paintings.

By Monica Moran 10/30/2026

MM: Do you live in Nigeria? 

GR: Yes, I live in Nigeria.

MM: How often do you visit the United States?

GR: I do not often visit the United States. Though I have friends and partners I have worked with over the years.

MM: My visual proximity has shifted dramatically. There's very little difference to me between your paintings and many American painters. It makes it difficult for me to appraise the work or monetize it. 

GR: I screen print the patterns on the skin and background of my paintings hence, our methods of painting are totally different. I weave two different painting methods into one and two different cultures into one. Which makes my work more universal. It could speak to both national and international audiences. Human experience worldwide is somehow similar even though different. So I wonder why our representation can’t be similar even though it is different.  

MM:  There is a unified theme that seems to be current in the imagery. For instance, your use of camouflage and leopard print is unique however, the rendering and identities seem universal in that there is a visual language that is shared. 

However, The Say Seer is spiritual as well. Which is undeniably universal in meaning. But there's something subversive about it. Is it meant to be humorous?

GR: There is a unified theme in the imagery. That's what makes it a movement. Contemporary art is movement of course there will be similarities in the art to classify it as the same movement. The same goes for pop art and other art movements. There are always similarities in imagery. Andy Warhol did not start pop art, he joined the movement and created art in similar fashion, that is why his art is classified as pop art. But within the movement he created his own uniqueness. Same as I have done with the camouflage and leopard print. That’s my uniqueness, as you have said and saw by yourself.

The Say Seer is not meant to be humorous, it’s meant to give you an understanding that the artist has his own identity and culture as the means of universal culture and discourse. In all my works there is always an element of my culture and my identity in it.

Thinking it is just another copy of a popular imagery? Well that’s what art movements are. Every artist's uniqueness comes from his own interpretation of the movement.

MM: In particular, the painting, In Blue. Does it represent anything specific?

GR: Of course it does represent something specific. In Blue is a painting of my friend Tope Ajayi who is a voiceover artist, I love so much and I love his work. 

My works are centered around human strength and weakness. Using the leopard rosette as a metaphor for sport in the form of weakness that can become the very source of strength. Doubt and fear are part of the human experience but we can always convert them to faith and boldness to keep us moving forward. In Blue is a portrait of our shared fear and doubt about ourselves but that could become our very source of strength. In Blue is a portrait of a friend I wish to become great in his artistry.

MM: Back to the metadata; I saw the camouflage and the leopard as a way of inscribing this metadata directly into the figures in a very meaningful way. Which is quite beautiful. Do the prints represent metadata or some characteristic of contemporary culture? 

GR: I see the prints and patterns as a way of embedding metadata directly into the figures, making the body a surface that carries information about identity, experience, and the world we inhabit. The camouflage patterns and leopard inspired spots are not merely decorative; they function as a visual language through which I explore the relationship between the individual and their environment.

The leopard motifs evoke strength, presence, adaptability, and cultural associations with power, while the camouflage introduces the idea of concealment, protection, and the ways people navigate different social spaces. Together, these patterns suggest that our identities are layered with personal experiences, cultural histories, emotions, and societal influences.

In relation to contemporary culture, I see the patterns as a metaphor for the information we carry and the influences that shape how we present ourselves to the world. Just as digital metadata provides information about an image or a file beyond what is immediately visible, the patterns on my figures offer another layer of meaning beyond their physical appearance. They invite viewers to consider the stories, memories, and cultural references embedded within each individual.

MM: It makes me think of Michel Foucault's biopower. Is there anything that I didn’t ask you that you would like to add? 

GR: There is a more personal reason I use the camouflage in my paintings. I had dyslexia when I was a child and drawing was where I drew strength from. I literally would draw every word from a sentence. For me the spots on the skin are a metaphor for human weakness which could also be the very source from where we draw strength.

Thank you very much. I have nothing else to add.

MM: Thank you, Godwin Rotimi for your generosity and extraordinary paintings.