Rotimi Fani-Kayode

Born April 1955 Lagos Nigeria, Died December 1989 London

Location: St George’s Church, Ivychurch

Rotimi Fani-Kayode came to the UK to escape the Nigerian Civil War. He arrived in Brighton with his family in 1966. Rotimi's timeless photographs constitute a profoundly personal and political exploration of complex notions of desire, diaspora, and spirituality. Fani-Kayode remains one of the most significant names in the history of photography in the UK. His large scale studies of the black male body becomes the focal point of a photographic enquiry to imaginatively interpret the boundaries between spirituality and notions of cultural difference. His work explores notions of ancestral rituals and a provocative, multi-layered symbolism that fuse together archetypal motifs from European and African cultures and subcultures. Rotimi was a founding member of Autograph, who have kindly loaned us this image, he was actively engaged in the Black British art scene during the 1980s in London. His photographs explore identity and  masculinity as a language of sensitivity, otherness and ambiguity.  Rotimi identified as an “outsider” which motivated him throughout his life. His works are beautifully staged and crafted portraits, sometimes quietly monochromatic and others use saturated colour, to create a sensual and tender visual statement. His photographs are infused with a powerful and  honest subjectivity that have evolved from an artist determined to  transgress the boundaries imposed both on his life and his work.