He’s designed more than 750 household items, yet most of us don’t even know his name. We use his products day in and day out, never stopping to think about the details of how the items were made. Instead, we drive to a store and grab what we need, never quite realizing how his sacrifices resulted in our convenience.
With his collection of charcoal pencils, acrylic supplies and oil paint, 26-year old Oliver Okolo is making his mark on the world. “I try to pass a message of self awareness and also bring our attention to all that is happening in our society today,” the self-taught artist tells The Spark, an art magazine.
“We can do two things when confronted with uncomfortable truth,” Canadian American musician Jordan Edward Benjamin told Billboard Magazine. “We can ignore the evidence, gaslight the victims, obfuscate facts and distract the public, or we can try and tackle these issues head-on and demand that systematic failure be met with systematic change. I believe art, and rock ‘n roll, must always side with the latter.” A quick snippet from any of Benjamin’s songs will let you know his mind is made up. ‘grandson,’ as he is affectionately known, decided early on that he would use his artistry to talk about hard truths. His debut EP, A Modern Tragedy vol. 1, conveys these truths with thought-provoking lyrics, genre-blending sounds, electric guitars, heavy metal clangs, unexpected bass drops and one-of-a-kind vocals.
