(fast piano music)
- [Narrator] At first glance
you might think that these were photographs.
But these are pencil drawings
part of a growing art movement called hyperrealism.
- When people look at my drawings
I would love them to feel a sense of emotion,
a reality, you know.
These are my works to bring people down to earth.
(upbeat music)
My name is Arinze Stanley.
I am hyperrealistic artist.
Hyperrealism is a genre of art that involves
making drawings or paintings that looks very realistic.
And you can't actually distinguish it
from a photograph or reality.
I started drawing when I was 6 years old.
My dad owns a paper factory.
I basically grew up around
a lot of paper.
When people see my works,
they are usually shocked that it is not a photo.
They go like, "Oh wow,
"is that a photo?"
Did you make that with a pencil?
And I'm like, "Yeah." (laughing)
(upbeat music)
Usually, my works take a long time to create.
Sometimes, I can make a piece for about a month.
Sometimes it could drag onto two months depending
on my mood and the size of the piece.
(upbeat piano music) I like to use
my works to speak on issues affecting my society
here in Nigeria and the whole of Africa.
Use the voice that I have through my art to speak
for people who can't speak for themselves.
This person is totally engulfed in oil.
This signifies how much we use oil
and destroy our society.
This signifies the see no evil,
hear no evil and speak no evil.
I'm encouraging people to take a step back
and try to emulate their childhood.
Trying to make people reset to default.
When I pick up my pencil
and put it on paper,
it takes me away.
It's something I can't explain in words.
(slow upbeat music)