Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955, Ile-Ife, Nigeria–1989, London) was born in Lagos to a prominent Yoruba family before moving to England following the 1966 outbreak of the civil war in Nigeria. He later studied at Georgetown University and the Pratt Institute in the US, before settling permanently in London in 1983 where he lived and worked until his early death from a short and unexpected illness in 1989. During his tragically brief six-year career, Fani-Kayode produced a complex body of photographic work, exploring themes of race, sexuality, spirituality, and the self. His masterfully staged and crafted portraits, sometimes quietly monochromatic and at other times rich in saturated colour, stand as powerful, resolutely ambiguous, visual statements. At the core of Fani-Kayode’s practice is an emphasis on the cultural politics of difference.

As of June 2023