Artist Bio:

Rotimi Fani-Kayodé (1955-1989), a Nigerian artist, explores themes of spirituality, sexuality, fantasy, and mortality in his work, with a focus on the black male body. As a leading figure among black British artists and an activist during the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, Fani-Kayodé used his studio to stage and photograph performances that challenged traditional ideas of homosexuality and the male body. Fani-Kayodé's family, who were refugees of the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria, migrated to Great Britain in 1966, where he grew up. He attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and the Pratt Institute in New York before returning to London in 1983. His work is heavily influenced by his experiences as an outsider, both in terms of his sexual orientation and lifestyle and his cultural and geographical displacement as a child leaving Nigeria. Fani-Kayodé's large-scale photographs use bold colors and black and white imagery, often drawing on spiritual symbolism and Yoruba traditions. His photographs have been exhibited globally since 1985 and are now part of the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK, the Artur Walther Foundation, Neu-Ulm/Burlafingen, and numerous public and private collections. Fani-Kayodé's life was tragically cut short when he died in London in 1989 at the age of 34, but his partner and collaborator, Alex Hirst, continues to carry on his legacy.

About the Piece(s):

These two pieces are gelatin silver print photographs that are each 9 ⅞ x 9 ⅞ inches in size. The first untitled photograph was taken in 1985 and depicts a nude black man crouching down with his arms crossed in front of his body. The man’s curly hair covers his eyes so that only his nose and mouth are visible. The figure is centered posing in front of a blank white background. The photo is taken in black and white and uses strong contrasts, with striking highlights and shadows on the figure. The second photograph taken in 1980 is also black and white and depicts a nude black man, however in this photo his eyes and nose are being covered by the hands of a white figure. The black man has his head tipped upwards and his hand in fists together in front of him. The white figure is unidentifiable as the only feature visible are the hands and parts of their arms. Lastly, in this piece the subject is in the center in front of a plain black background as opposed to the first photo. These two pieces are part of a larger body of work interrogating the political environment of the time and engaging with themes of black queerness and cultural identity during the height of the AIDS crisis.