“We have prosthetics made of white skin. You rarely find people with black skin prosthetics, so I want the blacks. I want Africa to have a feel, to be closer to have this need solved within Africa.”
John Amanam is a 32 year old Nigerian sculptor and a graduate of Fine and Industrial Art from the University of Uyo who makes hyper Realistic prosthesis limbs for people who have lost their body parts in accidents.
Amanam, who hails from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria is reportedly the first Nigerian to produce hyper-realistic prosthesis. His company ‘Immortal Cosmetic Art‘ produces body parts such as legs, nose, toes, ears, arms and fingers all from silicone.
Amanam is so passionate about using art to solve human problems. “Art has been my passion. I am always not satisfied; I am always trying to discover things that other people have not done to solve human problems”.
Most prosthesis available in Nigeria until now have been white or made from materials such as wood.
His prosthesis limbs has a hyper-realistic feel and, and unlike the ones currently available in the market, his is dark coloured, matching perfectly the tone of the wearers skin.
Amanam who has no formal training in making prosthetics developed an interest in it after a family member of his lost a limb in an accident.
“I have a cousin who happens to be my major inspiration. He lost his fingers and I was just thinking of ways to help him as a sculptor. I have molded human beings severally in the course of my career. Why can’t I mold something that can actually be implanted in a human body? I began my research and by God’s grace, I discovered this.”
His pieces go for as low as $689 for artificial legs or arms and a sum of $96 to $100 for other minor body parts.
Amanam said mismatched skin tone makes it more difficult for people to feel confident with their artificial limbs.
“We have prosthetics made of white skin. You rarely find people with black skin prosthetics, so I want the blacks. I want Africa to have a feel, to be closer to have this need solved within Africa. I want to reach out to blacks all over the world as well so we can have this process, accessible and at an affordable rate,” said Amanam.
Amanam plans to open a factory in his state of origin so he could produce the prosthesis in large quantity and even export to countries around the world.
