83 1/8 x 70 1/8 in
My artwork is intentionally raw. I like to use a lot of different materials and have
rough-cut edges on the canvas. The paintings are textured with scratches, scribbles,
and mud-like paint, as well as clay, liquid plastic, oil sticks, chunky layers of oil paint.
I layer the background and then deconstruct them, which gives the feeling of wear
and tear on the canvas. No painting is alike as each has symbolic patterns and
encrypted messages hidden within it. I want to merge the vision with the given and
the new world that I live in now. The word “Why?” is seen in a lot of the work because
it leaves you asking the same question.
The Watchman is more than a recurring figure in Móyòsóré Martins' work-it is a personal archetype, a spiritual sentinel, and a bridge between worlds. Rooted in Yoruba traditions of carved guardian figures and ancestral spirits, The Watchman has followed Martins through his artistic journey, from Nigeria to New York, carrying with it the weight of cultural memory and spiritual presence.
As Martins settled into the urban landscape of New York, his visual language evolved. Surrounded by street art, design, and the stylized aesthetics of contemporary artists like KAWS, Murakami, and the many Hypebeast and Indie Art Toy collectables, he began to see parallels between the sacred icons of his heritage and the exaggerated pop figures that dominate global visual culture. The result is a compelling juxtaposition: a new kind of iconography that merges the reverent with the irreverent, the traditional with the contemporary.
In these works, The Watchman becomes a vessel through which past and present collide. Densely textured with oil impasto and mixed media, the work pulses with physicality and spirit. They reference tribal altars as much as they echo the bold, collectible aesthetics of designer toys and pop figurines. Each piece is both a relic and a remix-part homage, part invention.
What gives Martins’ work its compelling power is the way it reflects not only the complexity and violence of the world we live in, but also his own personal journey through struggle and survival to reach his dreams and aspirations. In his series, AH!, the expression “AH” becomes both a personal and collective outcry: “Ah! How can this be happening?!” The open-mouthed faces, caught in a moment of disbelief, mirror his own emotional responses while tapping into universal human experiences. The repeated figures don’t just amplify the message—they bridge the gap between the personal and the collective, turning individual emotion into a shared, resonant truth.
In Martins’ newest series, this fusion reaches a new clarity. His deepening synthesis of traditional cultural iconography with a passion for urban contemporary designer toys and pop figures further defines The Watchman as a singular, evolving presence. Rendered in his unmistakable graphic language, layered oil impasto, and raw mixed media surfaces, The Watchman becomes not just an icon, but a reflection of the artist’s own transformation—gritty, mythic, and unmistakably his own.
