Samuel Semako Vittu | Memento Mori I, 2025 | Acrylic on canvas, 29x29

Signature:
Front upper left: — Samuel .S. Vittu — 25.

Not framed. Stretched.

Samuel Semako Vittu was born in 1991 in Lagos, Nigeria. He studied art education at Adeniran Ogunsanya College and later earned a bachelor's degree in painting from the University of Nigeria in Nsukka.

One of the most distinctive features of Samuel’s work is his anthropomorphic portrait painting, in which human and animal silhouettes merge. This form enables him to address one of today’s most pressing issues—forced migration due to climate change.

Here, anthropomorphism becomes a tool of empathy, linking the fates of both humans and animals who are forced to abandon their native lands due to extreme environmental conditions, food shortages, or flooding. These are stories not only of physical displacement but also of the loss of cultural memory, traditions, and identity—a reflection on the fragility of one's homeland and the idea of a lost paradise.

Since 2012, the artist’s exhibitions have been presented in Nigeria, the USA, Israel, and Belgium. His works are included in important private and institutional collections, including the Institute Museum of Ghana, the Sir David Adjaye Collection, the Olym Collection, the Travis London Collection, and the Ibelin Collection.