Artist posts four-year drawing progress to inspire people to keep practising

When it comes to pursuing your dreams and hobbies, they say practice makes perfect, and that’s certainly true for 24-year-old Nigerian artist Ken Nwadiogbu.

The artist and University of Lagos graduate posted a photo of one of his drawings from 2013 next to his 2017 work, captioning the photos: “My pencil drawing progress.”

Social media users were astounded by the latest piece, Thy Brother Is Not Thy Brother Indeed, which took Nwadiogbu around a month to complete.

The tweet comparing Nwadiogbu’s old work with his new piece reached more than 23,000 retweets and 82,000 likes on the website.

Nwadiogbu said: “I am inspired by what the society has to say. This voice inspires my art, which evaluates, interrogates and challenges socio-political structures and issues within the society.

“Often referencing African cultures, my work also touches on gender equality, black power, tribal discrimination, feminine denigration, highlighting the relationship between pain, war, sorrow, anguish, sadness and art.”

Social media users took to Twitter to compliment Nwadiogbu’s work, with many saying his drawing progress was almost too impressive to believe.

Nwadiogbu said: “The reason for posting that tweet was to inspire one or two people to keep practising their craft and trust their process.

“Imagine how I feel now that it has gone viral and lots of people are beyond inspired. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s something I want to keep doing, inspiring people.”