The Beautiful and Simplistic Portraits of Ojima Abalaka

Ojima Abalaka became an illustrator without planning to do so. She was born in Nigeria and moved to the UK in order to study European and international law. However, it wasn’t long before she would come into her own as an incredible artist, inspiring thousands of people in the process. So how exactly did it happen?

At first, illustration was just a hobby, a form of meditation that helped her feel grounded, but after she got her first commission with The New York Times, everything changed. “Until that point, I was just having fun, I had no idea what I was doing! I didn’t want to get it wrong,” It’s Nice That quotes her.

Abalaka got a number of editorial clients after that and moved her focus to portraits before everything else. Her style is simple but expressive, sometimes featuring surreal elements. “Her work explores rest, people and identity in the context of everyday life,” as it says on her website.

Check out Abalaka’s illustrations below and on her Instagram page and follow her to see more in the future. You can buy them through INPRINT if you want.