From Word to the World:an Interview with Osinachi
“Experimentation and imitation should exist just to make you unique in the long run. You should seek authenticity.”
Indoors, 2025, by Osinachi. Sold out, now available on the secondary market.
One might think this is just another case of the right person, at the right time, in the right place. Cosmic alignment. But it’s not: Osinachi’s talent would never have gone unnoticed. In 2022, at 30, he became the first African NFT artist to have his work sold by Christie’s auction house in Europe, for more than $68,000. Based in Lagos, Nigeria, he was born in 1991 in Aba, where he first explored creativity: starting with writing before turning to visual arts. And, curiously, using a word processor as his tool.
Osinachi has been represented by leading galleries worldwide, such as Kate Vass Galerie and Nagel Draxler. He has exhibited at Art Basel, Art Basel Miami Beach, and ArtXLagos, at home. And not only that: his unmistakable pieces can also be found in the collections of the Toledo Museum of Art and the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, to mention just a few.
In his first drop on Tezos, on objkt.com, launched on August 19, he presented three pieces derived from Different Shades of Water, a series exploring social status, economic power, and leisure — reflecting on the Black body in relation to the pool. It is an invitation to confront stereotypes and prejudices. More broadly, Osinachi’s work often engages with cultural, sexual, and racial themes.
Later in the day, a fourth piece — Answer Within — was added to the drop, after the first three editions sold out before the official launch time. But collectors still have the opportunity to acquire the open edition until August 21 - don’t miss out.
Read on for his take on process, creativity, and the future.
Legs Dipping, 2025, by Osinachi.
Raquel Gaudard - Obviously, my very first and most basic question is: how can you create such stunning images using Microsoft Word? For most people, it’s just a text processor. So, how come?
Osinachi - I have been using Microsoft Word for making digital art since around 2006 when my father introduced me to the computer. I first started out typing manuscripts of various poems and short stories I wrote as a teenager; then I started making illustrations for these manuscripts on Microsoft Word. From the simple illustrations of those days, it has now been over 17 years of practice after practice, experiments after experiments; and I am glad that the practices and experiments have paid off to the point that I have developed a unique visual language for my art that is now recognizable anywhere in the world. And the experiments continue.
RG - Are you the first artist in your family? Who influenced you along the way?
O - As far as I know, I am the first artist in my family. I would say my father had a lot of influence on me growing up. Of course, there were (and still are) various issues which we disagree on, but his taste in music especially and his willingness to allow me to explore my areas of interest are foundational to what I do today. I grew up as a kid who would rather stay home and bury his face in books instead of going outside to play. The one person I would say who disagreed with me showing signs of being an artist was my maternal grandmother. She was a businesswoman, and she tried to make a businessman out of me. You can see how that worked out.
RG - You emerged from a digital art scene in Lagos that wasn’t initially recognized by the mainstream but has been flourishing more recently. Today, Art Lagos is a reality. Do you think NFTs and the crypto wave helped accelerate this growth?
O - Lagos has always been the cultural capital of West Africa — some would argue, even Africa as a whole. Visual art has always flourished in Lagos, giving birth to the works of celebrated artists who today are known all over the world. However, like you pointed out, the digital art scene sort of stayed hidden until just recently. 2021 was the year when we saw the acknowledgement of digital art in Lagos, thanks to the 2021 NFT boom and the crypto wave which has become a subculture among Nigerian youth. Yes, we have the advent of the blockchain to thank for this acknowledgement. Sadly, the acknowledgement has not properly carried on over the years. There have been gains, but more needs to be done to center digital art in fairs, galleries, and museums in Lagos.
RG - I once spoke with a Brazilian artist who told me that collectors — especially Europeans — expect to see more “typical” approaches in her work, with elements, colors, and themes directly tied to Brazil. When she moves away from that, she finds it harder to exhibit and sell. Do you feel something similar? Do you feel tied, in a way, to African colors and themes?
O - I really don’t care about collector expectations, and I think that any artist who wants to create art that is really from the bottom of their heart need not worry about what collectors think. The making of art is a personal journey (sometimes the journey that is today’s artwork began when the artist was still a baby), and every collector should be grateful to the artist for bringing them on that journey. Likewise, the artist should be grateful to the collector for genuinely engaging with their work to the point of deciding to create a home for said work. But that doesn’t mean that the collector gets to decide what the artist makes, unless of course we are talking about art commissions. That’s a whole new topic.
Pool Boy, 2025, by Osinachi.
RG - Let’s talk about your new drop on objkt. Tell us a bit about this new series and what led you to release it on Tezos.
O - Yes, the works I will be releasing on objkt on August 19 (18:00 WAT) all depict swimming pools. The series is not entirely new; these works emerged from Different Shades of Water, a series of five artworks inspired by British artist David Hockney’s pool paintings. I did Different Shades of Water primarily because I wanted to challenge my medium, to paint believable water bodies using the limited tools I have on Microsoft Word. Beyond that, when the works were exhibited at 1-54 Art Fair in London ahead of their sale at Christie’s, the series came to represent something beyond my intention. For most Black people who saw these five artworks, it was a thing of beauty and validation to see a Black body having a good time in and around the pool. Years ago, this was not possible because of racial segregation in public pools.
Taking that insight from 2021, I decided to further explore the idea of the Black body in relation to the pool. Looking at these new works, you can see a commentary on social status, economic power, and leisure. When you’re done discussing these themes, you can then head on to the technical aspects of the works. A close look at the artworks will reveal that, in my ongoing experiments to create believable water bodies in Microsoft Word, I took a different approach in these works, compared to the 2021 series. It is these nuances that I want viewers to enjoy in the works.
I decided to do the release on Tezos because I wanted to grow my collector base beyond Ethereum, which is where I have been flying since 2018 when I joined the crypto art scene. I am one of those people who believe that art is for everybody, and so I am bringing my art to the Tezos community. While the community enjoys this access through the low prices that I intentionally put for the works, it is my hope that they will appreciate the artworks and come to these works with their own experiences.
RG - What went through your mind when you realized your piece was being auctioned at Christie’s?
O - In 2021 when Christie’s reached out for that collaboration, I was overjoyed. The sale made me the first African artist in the NFT space to be auctioned by Christie’s in Europe; and it gave me an opportunity to put my work where more people could have access to it. My relationship with Christie’s remains strong today, and I can’t say enough how much visibility they have created for digital art in the general art market.
RG - Which other artists inspire you — not only in the visual arts, but also in music, literature, or elsewhere?
O - I enjoy the works of various artists. In Nigeria, we have so many Afrobeats artists who continue to bring joy to the world through the music that they make — Davido, Wizkid, and Burna Boy, to mention a few. The other day I tweeted about discovering Benjamin Clementine, whose music reminds me how art can sometimes surprise in such a feel-good, poetic way. I admire the works of fellow visual artists like Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Tschabalala Self, and Devan Shimoyama, to mention a few. In literature, the works of my friends Arinze Ifeakandu, JK Anowe, Otosirieze Obi-Young, and Ebenezer Agu capture the Nigerian (sometimes immigrant) millennial experience through poetry, short stories, and novels; and believe me, this is such a rich subject that deserves everyone’s attention.
Answer Within, 2024, by Osinachi. Now available on the secondary market.
RG - What’s coming in 2026, which you announced so mysteriously on X?
O - My announcement on X was for a group show which I will be taking part in come January 2026. The show is being organized and will be hosted by one of the biggest museums in Washington, DC. I will share more information on my socials when I am allowed to. I would like to add here that even though my works can be found in the collections of three American museums, it is always an honor when a museum as an institution takes interest in the work that I and other artists in the NFT space do. Yes, we can do without museums, but we can do more with their genuine involvement.
RG - Finally, what advice would you give to an artist starting out now in Web3?
O - Here’s my advice: You will be tempted to make what you think sells in the space; that’s normal — you’re allowed to experiment and imitate. But remember that the end goal of experimentation and imitation should exist just to make you unique in the long run in the works that you create. You should seek authenticity. Just be you!
Follow the artist:
objkt | X | Instagram | osinachi.com