SOLDIER

Leonard ‘SOLDIER’ Iheagwam (b.1999, Lagos, Nigeria) is a Lon- don based multidisciplinary artist whose work blends Pop Art influences with reflections on his upbringing in Lagos.

‘I think a lot of ‘artists’ take a much more passive approach to art. I would describe myself as more of a scientist. We’re in here doing trials and tests and research months before anything even gets put onto paper. My practice is calculated. I want to understand as much as there is to understand about the elements and people that surround me. In a way it’s quite heavily inspired by the military system, in that I believe in order and a disciplined approach. A lot of artists like to be free and wing it, but I haven’t come this far to wing it. I control what I can control and that’s how I work best.’

‘I’m keen to find a way to make art as accessible as music. I love art but in many ways it’s very elitist and I hate that shit. With music, you can literally listen to a song from any time period, by any musician, any time, while if you want to see a certain artwork, you have to this one gallery and pay however much money, which is cool because it gives the art value but there should be a way that to bridge that gap and make art more universal and consumable for all. That’s what I’m working towards.’