#maxwell oginni
My exhibition, ‘MAXIMAJINATION: The Creations of an Animator’ will be exhibiting at the Stratford Circus Arts Centre from the 31st of July till September 30th 2017. ( https://goo.gl/YBeH4p)
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This exhibition explores the many genres & subjects I am inspired by, such as, retro Sci-Fi movies, film noir, vintage pulp cover art, Comics, & Black Culture.
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***PRIVATE VIEWING***
Friday 18th August @ 7pm, I will be hosting a small private viewing at the gallery. Come down & enjoy a classy-cool evening of retro/ pop/ Black culture art, in the creations of MAXIMAJINATION.
-M-
Here’s a finished pose sheet (1 of 2) for this character who I’ve given the name, Princess Ugonwa.
I based her design on a traditional Nigerian/ Igbo ceremonial attire, such as the orange coral beads & headpiece. In the Igbo tongue, the name ‘Ugonwa’ literally means, ‘Eagle Child’. I really liked the power & poetry behind that, so I decided to give her a golden gauntlet as an attribute of her name & perhaps a prophesied destiny. The gauntlet, I called, ‘The Eagles Claw’, which would have mystical powers only she could wield… sort of like Thor’s hammer, ‘Mjolnir’…. but probably much stronger ;)
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I began working on this illustration last year after being inspired by this image I came across of super models, Nykhor Paul&Adonis Bosso... Needless to say, the phrase ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ definitely applied. It was one image, but evoked a multitude of meanings to me. I found the photo so profound, beautiful & poetic that it was beyond words to interpret… So I did the next best thing & put pen to papercintiq.
I’ve learnt it’s best an artist not always give his/ her own personal meaning behind their work, as in most cases it may actually deter the viewer from what they themselves saw; robing them of their own unique experience of the ‘art’ itself.
I titled this piece, ‘‘Made in His Image’ (Revolutionary Love)’…
FB:@MaxiMAJiNATiON IG: @maxwell_oginni
-M-
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On a Black Panther fix at the moment. Loved Civil War! Go see it ;)
Ps: Who’d watch this as an animated series?Post link
Animation WIP from the NERO ‘Into The Night’ music video.
* D A U G H T E R S O F G R A C E*
Here they are, finally finished… I started this illustration back at the beginning of november last year, but had to put it on hold due to the loss of my older Brother. A lot has happened between now & then, but I’m proud I have finally been able to complete it…
I dedicate this illustration in honour to the life of my beloved Brother,Abiola Kingsley Oginni [1979 - 2015]
This illustration was inspired by an incredibly powerful image I came across on my news feed last year… A photo of a group of women… not just any women… No, these were a Dynamic, Daring, Fierce & Bold Sisterhood of Super-heroines… with the Dopest STYLE!
“We fight for those who are told their tears don’t matter. Where the police hurt more than serve, and eating establishments are built just to shorten the lives of the community. We fight for the strong who have been stripped of their powers. We fight for the invisible.”
Paola Mathe was the creative genius behind the original source of my illustration, & I love everything she’s about! Here’s her personal website where you can see the incredible photos that inspired me as well as links to the blogs of the other models: http://goo.gl/35zsNp
Tempted to do a few more… ;)
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On the last week of November 2015, I lost someone indescribably special & influential to me…
My beloved big brother, Kingsley, Abiola, Oginni was the person behind my artistic gifts… He trained & nurtured me from as early as 11yrs old through to my teenage years. In the early 90’s he would teach me how to draw, at first copying characters out of video game magazines (‘Mean Machine’ games mag), then later more advanced principals using 'The Marvel Way to Draw Comics’ book… He would also set up a regular 'drawing club’ for me & my younger brother in our bedroom where he’d provide us with paper, pencils, colours & other resources. He’d grade me & my brother out of 10, & I was always proud to get top marks from him.
Since his transition, I’ve been unable to work on any of my own personal projects. I didn’t know what it was before, only that it was directly linked to him. I had been working on several illustrations prior to what happened, but since then I hadn’t been able to bring myself to continue… I took the last few weeks to try to analyse what was going on & how I needed to deal with it. Finally it came to me… Because my brother Kingsley was so paramount to the development & cultivation of my gifts, consciously & unconsciously my art/ artistic journey & career has always been connected to him. I can only describe it as him having guided me throughout my entire growth as an artist, which had been a very intimate thing… As a result of his passing, I hadn’t anticipated the reality of continuing this journey without him & the emotions it would bring up.
I’ve come to the acceptance now that he would want me to stay on the path (without his physical presence) & keep pressing on. So as an act of accepting his transition, I felt very strongly that before I could do anything else, I had to first honor him for all he was/ is (still) to me with this illustration.
It’s been VERY emotional working on it as it brought to memory so much I love & recall about him; but at the same time I felt a peace within me that seemed to grow with each line I drew. Finally it’s now completed, & I feel ready to move forward knowing I have paid this homage to him & have his blessing.
I titled this illustration, 'The Creator’.
May his Spirit rest in blissful Peace
❤You Biola…
Your bro, Folabi
-M-
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Here’s an illustration of a young lady I saw on the train platform a week or so ago… Stood there by herself, this beautiful sista had such a radiance about her, I just wanted to capture & celebrate it. She didn’t have any military deco on her jacket, but it just seemed to work. I also had two versions of her which I liked both equally. One with short hair, one with long locks… Both represent the same statement of Natural Pride, & the love/ embracement of it.
I titled this, ‘Daughter of Alkebulan, Child of Kush’
Here’s a powerful spoken word piece that summarises my thoughts here, by K-Love The Poet, titled… ‘Million Dollar Melanin’
More of my work here.
-M-
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Deborah…Judge,Prophetess,Warrior&Wife.
“And Deborah, a nebiyah (prophetess) the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Yisra’el at that time. And she was dwelling under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beyth El in the mountains of Ephrayim. And the children of Yisra’el came up to her for right-ruling.” Judges 4 v4-5
More of my work here.
-M-
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What I started off as a rough (never intended for clean-up) animated run cycle ended up becoming this short, dramatic sequence. ’Rooftop Chase!’
Watch it in full screen, just make sure you hit the HD button! Full description of how this came about & what I plan to do with it on the video’s page. I’ll try to post up a process vid also, soon.
-M-
The youngest member of ’Chuckie. B’s band, Mike is the drummer; he also happens to be a solid gold tap-dancer. He enjoys the fast life, money, girls, cars; but his heart is without compromise for his music. Mike is a very talented & promising young man, but even more, he is a loyal friend…
Still working out his bio, but that’s all I’ve got for now ;)
More of my work here.
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I remember watching this interview a few months back discussing the ebola “outbreak” & the ongoing propaganda of western media portraying Afrika as a helpless, disease -ridden cesspool… (while secretly being plundered for its resources)… There is so much more to be said on this issue, but this sista (Robtel Neajai Pailey), spoke like a true nationalist Queen! Voices like hers are the future of Afrika, & I support them!
I titled this design, ’Prelude of a Nation’…
More of my works here.
-M-
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Here’s the 3rd and final costume design (for this particular character), which is based on the Olmec civilization (more accurately, ‘Xi People’).
Evidence of an ancient Afrikan presence in the early Americas (pre-Columbus) is incredibly overwhelming. Evidence in the form of artifacts are & have been found all over the continent. One such artifact in the case of the Xi Civilization are the ‘Olmec Heads’ discovered in Mexico. Although the first discovery in the modern world of these colossal stone heads was in circa mid 1800’s, the major* excavation & discovery happened in 1938 by the American archeologist Matthew. W. Stirling.
Very little is known (or has been revealed) about the mysterious Xi Civilization, but it is said & mostly agreed upon amongst archeologists & historians that based on the clear physical appearance & strong cultural similarities within the many basalt heads/ artifacts excavated, that they were a people who’s origins were West Afrikan; but more generally, a ‘Black’ race.
“ I reflected that there had undoubtedly been Negroes in this country, and that this had been in the first epoch of the world.”
-J. M. Meglar-
The heads are also described by author, David Hatcher Childress, in an interview as looking like “Nigerian rugby players”.
Going back to my design for this Xi warrior, fashion-wise there was virtually nothing I could dig up on them other than the helmet & ear piercings, but since many West Afrikan cultures share similar attributes, I decided to take influence from the ones I knew best, Nigeria & Ghana. I also took some influence from Aztec art, which I applied as the pattern on his Waist Wrapper (skirt). However, it is important to state that the Xi Civilzsation far predate the Aztec/ Mayan cultures; & in fact actually gave birth to them.
A very deliberate ‘miseducation’ which I believe is now known to have been a lie was that Christopher Columbus was the first to “discover” the Americas… One thing for sure is that ‘They Came Before Columbus’.
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“Slice n dice! Show ‘em we nasty”.
Finally got round to watching Batman: The Dark Knight Returns pt:1 the other week, & boy did I love it! Aside from Batman being a total badass, I absolutely loved the Mutants, with their Jive-ish talk!
Here’s my own take on them.
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Continuing on from my previous costumedesign for this character, here’s the latest… Gave this one the name, ’Joseph’.
For this costume, I took influence from Ancient Egyptian (Kemetic) plus a few traditional West Afrikan fashion influences of royalty… A very common misconception people have of Afrikan history is that other than Egypt (for the few who are aware Egypt is in Afrika), nothing else of equal or greater significance occurred… This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Afrika has always had a rich & ancient history of powerful civilizations with great Kings & Queens. One such figure was the West Afrikan Emperor, Mansa Musa, who was ruler of the Mali empire during the 13th century, & is historically recorded as to have been the wealthiest man to have lived at that time; & some say to this day… It is said that during his well known pilgrimage to Mecca, when passing through Egypt, he gave out so much gold that it literally threw off the Egyptian economy.
Here’s a documentary on the West Afrikan Empire of Mali.
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I drew this as a gift for the lovely, Miss kioshiyang, who I’ve only just recently had the pleasure of connecting with here on Tumblr, but has been such an encouragement & genuine supporter of my work.
Just a little something to say, “thanks”… Titled it, ’Queen Khalifa’.
-M-
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Here’s the finished illustration of a character I designed a few weeks ago for an early & developing theme of ‘The Great & True Afrikan Histories’… This theme, which I’m extremely passionate about, primarily is to create content which represents & celebrates the Black Afrikan culture & it’s true/ rich histories.
The character’s outfit I designed as a ceremonial-type attire, as I imagined him to be a young man/ Prince about to earn his 'Rite of Passage’. The white marks on his skirt (wrapper) represent 'cowrie shells’, which are quite common in the traditional fashion of many African peoples.
His skin I wanted to be jet black for many reasons; one of which being to unapologetically celebrate it as the badge of strength & beauty that it is… For some reason, though he’d be a young man in his very early 20’s, the visual of him having a crown of white hair was appealing… Strong, fearless & noble; I decided to give him the name 'Samson’ (after my Father, in his youth).
I have two more pieces I’ll be finishing off soon, but hope you dig this one for now.
More of my work here: https://m.facebook.com/MaxiMAJiNATiON
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