January 3, 2025 |
Kelvin Okafor is all about human connection. An unmistakable talent, the artist’s aptitude for photorealist portraiture is uncanny, elevated by his gift for capturing the core essence of his subjects – one pencil stroke at a time.
To observe an Okafor piece is not only to see the subject’s reflection staring back, but to see emotion in their eyes, stories in their wrinkles and beauty in their flaws. Upon meeting Okafor, 39, on a Zoom call one afternoon in August, I understood why he could convey these intangible qualities so well. Appearing on the call immaculately lit, carefully groomed and with a wide grin, his warmth was palpable. Overcoming the screen that divided us, it encouraged an easy and natural dialogue. Should I have been one of Okafor’s subjects, telling him my story would have comfortably rolled off the tongue.
Artist, Kelvin Okafor is known for his remarkable photorealistic pencil portraits. His latest project focuses on people with visible differences
The seed for his career was planted young. “I’ve always been intrigued by the details,” he says, when asked about any pivotal moments that shaped his approach to hyperrealistic portraiture. “People were my interest – specifically the small details that we have on our faces like flaws and wrinkles. What people call imperfections are perfections to me. From a young age, I’ve always been fascinated with detail and precision and, because of that, [it’s reflected] in the kind of art that I do.”
Graduating with a degree in Fine Art from Middlesex University in 2009, Okafor’s longstanding interests started to form a career in 2012, when he submitted to the Catherine Petitgas Visitors’ Choice Award at the National Open Art Competition and won. “[After that] it was like a snowball effect,” he says. He started to win awards from the likes of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and his reputation began to grow. In 2013, the BBC broadcast a short interview with Okafor, catapulting his work into the wider public eye. Like most who come across his pieces, viewers were floored by his creative prowess. “I became an artist overnight,” he says with a laugh. “That set everything in motion for me.” In 2022 he was profiled by the BBC again for its show Extraordinary Portraits.
from left: Shimbe Avalumun Queen, who has albinism; Model Winnie Harlow, who has vitiligo
What drives Okafor to create in the first place? It seems like the work of an elusive higher power. “I’ve been having lucid dreams ever since I was 21,” he says. “I can’t tell the difference between that world and this. It’s from my dreams where ideas come to me. For example, a person I saw in my dream who I’ve never met in the physical world would have an expression on their face. Then, in a waking hour, I would see someone who has that same emotional expression I felt in my dream. That would inspire me to want to capture it.”
Intriguingly, this dance between reality and fantasy seems to pop up in all aspects of Okafor’s work, giving it a full-bodied feeling you don’t always get with other artists. His dream- doused inspirations exist in the space between the conscious and the unconscious, the imagined and the real. Once a piece is completed, this space then serves as the gallery where viewers experience the work. His graphite on paper works can take up to 500 hours to complete and their precision can leave you feeling unsure whether they are photographs or not, pulling you back into that liminal space between imagination and real life – the very place where the creative process began.
“From the first time the general public experienced my art, it was fascinating how people would come up to me and express how it looks like a photograph,” he says. “I felt something I couldn’t explain. It was knowing that they had some sort of emotional response they couldn’t make tangible. That inspired me and made me realise it’s more than the physicality, the aesthetics of pencil and paper. There’s also something that emits and I think [this happens in] all forms of art when an artist is genuinely expressing themselves. In that moment, when they’re creating their art, those emotions come through.”
Catrin Pugh, physiotherapist and motivational speaker, whose burns were due to a coach crash
Okafor’s description of how people engage with his work adds another layer of depth. His art is at the heart of a seamless cycle of expression and connection. Like a self-sustaining ecosystem, the piece is born from and shaped by emotion and ultimately experienced through that lens. “The fact that people have information and stories and visions in their own mind that we can’t see [is fascinating]. It’s only when they express it through art, through their body language, the way they talk and their tone [that you start to see it].” Linking it back to the start of the cycle, Okafor says, “that emotional connection plays a huge part with even me feeling inspired to want to draw someone. Everyone has a story.”
This desire to share these stories found another purpose in 2020 when Okafor started using his talent for good by creating the series Drawing Awareness. “It’s mostly focused around people with visible differences, whether it’s with skin conditions [that are] environmental or genetically-based – alopecia, vitiligo or burn survivors,” he says. “It’s focused around the aesthetics of their physical condition, [but] I want to celebrate their differences and bring about that inclusion for their stories and what they look like.”
Unsurprisingly, the seed for the Drawing Awareness project was watered by an emotional, human connection. “One random day, I noticed my followers on social media were saying Winnie Harlow was following me. I obviously knew who she was, reached out and we started speaking on direct message. [I said] ‘I would absolutely love to capture you and hear more about you’ [and it went from there].”
Zelda Burborough has alopecia
Dealing with heavy backstories, the emotion that often acts as an anchor for Okafor is also the part he finds the most challenging. “The actual process of drawing those divisible differences was so inspirational, encouraging and motivating. But the emotional side was very heavy… Some of the bullying that they had to face [was terrible]. Like Winnie Harlow [being called] all different names. And Zelda Burborough [a campaigner for visible difference charity Changing Faces] with her alopecia, she lost her hair just months after her father died, and she was extremely close to him. The stress of that was what caused the alopecia to start.”
Explaining how he utilised this personal weight to make his drawings even more effective, Okafor says, “I tried to get myself into a place where I could use those emotions and connect with the drawing, rather than it affecting me to the point where I [couldn’t] draw. It was quite overwhelming, but that’s what I made and it makes this whole series so dear and special to me. [It’s the] heartful connections I’ve made, not just with the subjects and their lives, but also with me and how I now see people, their reality and adversity.”
from left: Nikki Lilly, British TikToker, influencer and activist, who has arteriovenous malformation (AVM); Katie Piper, English writer and activist, whose burns and scars were caused by an assault
The impact of Drawing Awareness has already started to take form, with Okafor’s hefty Instagram audience – he has nearly 380,000 followers – playing a key role in getting the message out. “It was heartwarming to know that people who have had alopecia, vitiligo [and other skin conditions] have been reaching out and being extremely appreciative. Drawing these people and creating an awareness and a narrative, giving them a platform to showcase and reveal what it is that they have and educate people on their on their conditions, it’s been really rewarding.” As the results of the project are now set to be turned into a documentary by directorial duo Deadhorses and production company OB42, the positive effect it could have is set to expand even further.
After chatting to Okafor for the best part of an hour, I was left satisfied in the knowledge that he deserves his gift. Dream-bound inspirations and childhood fascinations suggest his artistic success was somewhat written in the stars, but the way he’s cultivated it – and of course how incredibly hard he works on each piece – makes you grateful fate chose him. He’s authentic in the pursuit of understanding his subjects and earnest in his ability to so wonderfully communicate that. Okafor’s emotional investment means his work is laced with depth, friendship and joy. By transcending traditional definitions of beauty and looking deeper within with Drawing Awareness, he creates art that is not only beautiful but meaningful, making him a powerful and necessary asset to the creative world. Aside from being a dab hand with a pencil, that’s where Okafor’s real power lies.
Seal, British singer, whose prominent facial scarring was caused by lupus. Michelle Brown, an NHS health care support worker, who has a cleft lip and palate.
Art by Kelvin Okafor. Taken from 10+ Issue 7 – DECADENCE, MORE, PLEASURE – out NOW. Order your copy here.
