Aluu Prosper

Nigeria •

Artist (Painting) •

Born 1999 •

Aluu Prosper is a contemporary Nigerian painter. His usually stylized figures show the use of the artistic devices of elongation and exaggeration, as well as his unique style of painting the iconic afro hairstyle. These are his ways of celebrating and negotiating African identity. In traditional African art visual codes, the exaggeration of the head in comparison to other parts of the body is a well-known visual strategy to establish the head as the seat of wisdom and intellectual prowess according to the beliefs in parts of Africa. Prosper plays with the size, forms and presentation of the head of the figures in his paintings as a visual pun to challenge what he considers a one-sided narrative about the size of the head in traditional African art. His style of painting rich afro hairstyle and golden crowns on the heads of his figures are meant to ennoble and dignify the subjects in his work.

Prosper's work does not aim to rehearse the negative stereotypes in African people's relationship with other races; instead, he strives to look beyond negative experiences by painting luscious images of the African people resplendent in beautiful apparel and striking pieces of diadem. By using Nigerian newspapers in his works, he tells stories of the past by preserving stories of the present. While he focuses on black identity, with this he believes that in order to preserve culture, he must continue to create it. Aluu Prosper exhibited his works in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Japan, South Africa.

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