I was born and raised in Libya to Nigerian parents. When the Libyan civil war broke out, my family was forced to leave everything behind and return to Nigeria. I thought we had escaped the worst, but it became the beginning of another chapter.

We settled in a place where the Boko Haram insurgency would soon become part of everyday life. Movement became limited, fear became routine, and survival slowly replaced living. During that time, I lost people I loved, and in many ways, I lost parts of myself too.

There were moments when every new day felt heavier than the last. Waking up no longer felt like a gift but another day to endure. The future disappeared, and hope became difficult to recognize.

This work was born from that place. It is not only about surviving war, but about surviving what war leaves behind.

Despite everything I had seen, everything I had lost, and every reason I believed I had to give up, I chose to keep living.

The Piece is Owned by the Amadon

The work explores the difference between surviving and truly living. It speaks to the invisible weight carried by those who have experienced conflict, loss, and displacement, while also recognizing the strength it takes to choose life after believing there is nothing left to hold onto.

Although rooted in my own experiences, the piece is meant to belong to anyone who has stood at the edge of hopelessness and found even the smallest reason to continue.

The character was created in Blender as the foundation of the piece. Instead of building the entire environment in 3D, I sourced a landscape photograph and transformed it extensively to create the atmosphere of the work. It became the starting point rather than the finished background.

I then brought the artwork into Procreate, where I added my signature strands flowing from the character's head and refined the illustrated elements. Finally, I completed the piece in Photoshop, where I textured the artwork and brought the entire composition together into its final form.