Interview with Yomi Orimoloye: Fantasy, familiarity, and self

You can find this interview and Yomi Orimoloye’s artwork in Trials, flo.’s third print issue.

Yomi Orimoloye is an Ottawa-based artist whose paintings depict surreal landscapes and fragmented portraits. His use of vivid colours offers an unexpected sensuality to the geometric forms he employs in his work. The way Orimoloye layers objects, humans, and abstractions offers a sense of melancholia embedded in euphoria, and brings forward refreshing insights to the multidimensionality of a human life. Read on to discover more about Orimoloye’s background, inspirations, and creative process. For more information, visit y0mi.com.

Can you tell me a bit about your background and how you got to where you are today? 

I am Nigerian, born and raised. At the age of 16, I moved to Toronto where I did a grade 12  crash program for 8 months before moving again to attend the University of Ottawa. I  graduated from uOttawa in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. I’ve lived  in Ottawa ever since. 

While studying in Toronto, I took an art course where I painted for the first time. During the  course, I also visited an art gallery for the first time. These experiences opened my mind up to a  new world of self-expression. I continued painting after the course ended in 2013, focusing on skill development and technique. Today, I’m an electrical engineer and emerging artist  practicing and working in Ottawa. 

What is your creative process for a piece, from start to finish? 

Inspiration can come from various sources. I have been the most inspired while travelling, listening to music, and reading. Events can also trigger emotions that inspire me to take on a  certain subject matter. When I do get inspired, the idea usually comes in the form of a fleeting vision, word, or phrase. I try to make a visual record of the idea before I forget it. My notes app  is full of unrealized ideas. 

From the visual record, I create one or more sketches focusing on composition, structure, light  and shadow. Afterwards, I add colour and detail. My goal at this stage is to develop a mockup I’m satisfied with. I eventually transfer the sketch onto the final surface, usually canvas, and  start painting using the mockup as a reference. The mockup is created using a mix of  traditional (pencil, paper, pastel, etc.) and digital (Procreate app) tools. 

This is generally the process I follow today, with slight variations depending on the final  medium and scale of the work. I love trying new things and learning from other experienced  artists to make my process better and more efficient, so the process is always changing.

What is your earliest art-related memory? 

Ben-10 was my favourite cartoon as a child. When I was 8 or 9 years old, I had a drawing  collection of Ben-10 alien characters—about 15-20 of them. Back then, we just got a PVR box  in my dad’s room. I would pause the cartoon on a frame I liked, put a piece of white printing paper against the television screen and trace out the character with a pencil. The TV was a  small one, so I got a good scale of the figures on the paper. The following year, I began  boarding school and bragged about my collection. It was the coolest thing I owned. 

What are some recurring themes in your art practice, and why do they interest you?

Friendship, family, loss, religion, sexuality, vices. I’ve found myself contemplating these  themes many times during my young adult years. An experience I’m sure many people of all  ages can relate to. These themes carry complex emotions that often lead to interesting  conversations. I explore these themes in my work because of my direct exposure to them. I see  an opportunity to create room for dialog between people with similar experiences and a  potential to put things into perspective which can have numerous benefits. 

What is one question that encapsulates your art practice?

 “Who are you?” A question that gives me hope. It motivates me to curate my existence and  consider my contributions to the world. It’s a question that has no definite answer. In fact, the answer is infinite over one’s lifetime. “Who are you?” Today, I’m a rock on the earth,  tomorrow, I shall become the wind.  

Your paintings seem to bring into question elements of identity and the inside turned outward. What are your thoughts on this? 

‘Identity’ is definitely a common topic in my work (“Who are you?”). This is partly because  the past few years have been ones of critical self-discovery and -development for me. I’ve been  getting to know myself, who I want to be, my place in the world around me and my  relationship with it. I’ve had to look inward. I try to express this in my work by dissecting figures to reveal their innards. It’s quite a literal approach but it works. 

Your works utilize a careful balance between figuration and abstraction, often portraying body parts intertwined with geometrical shapes. How do you choose which elements are to be figurative versus which are to be abstracted?  

It generally depends on what vision I had for the piece before starting it. I always want the final work to feel like something out of a fantasy, yet familiar. This is where abstraction comes in. During the drawing stage, I focus on ensuring there are visual cues to highlight important information about the subject matter. At this stage, I decide what elements can be abstracted to contribute to the subject matter as well as the aesthetic of the composition. 

For example, “Keep it together baby, we love you” (page 39) explores the importance of communal  support when it comes to healing, which can often be a delicate matter. In the painting, figures with sharp edges, where palms should be, are in a group hug. I use this to show the importance of care needed by all parties involved so as not to cause further damage.  

You note on your website that you did your undergraduate studies in electrical engineering.  How does this education inform your art practice? Do you ever notice overlap between the  domains, either visually or theoretically? 

As an engineering student, I had to develop block diagrams and schematics that were easy for  others to understand. This involved using many lines and shapes, all of which had different  meanings. I was obsessed with the overall neatness of the diagrams and would spend more time  on presentation than problem solving.  

This had a major impact on my work, particularly the visual aspects. Most of this is evident in my obsessive use of simple geometric shapes and bold lines. Perhaps what isn’t obvious is the strict measurements and dimensions I often follow when developing figures. 

How do you imagine your art practice will develop in the coming years? Are there things you are looking to experiment with or new themes you wish to explore? 

I hope to have my first solo show within the next two years. I think I’m ready for it. 

There are so many things I would like to try. My focus presently is improving my skills as a  painter. However, I would love to explore other mediums; collage, poetry, sculpture. I’ve recently picked up an interest in 3D modelling and printing. The possibilities are endless. I plan to dabble in as much as I can and have fun while doing it.