‘I donated ‘Constellations of Beauty’ as it draws from my Yoruba culture and its varying complexities in ideology and aesthetic. The artwork is inspired by the Yoruba cosmology and spirituality and its intersection with the essence of womanhood. The work also draws inspiration from the work of Gustav Klimt which brings together the hybridisation of my experiences as an African and European citizen. This central motif of my work is the celebration of my African culture and identity, more specifically my Yoruba heritage.’
– ÀSÌKÒ
Christie’s and the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Nigeria are collaborating to raise funds for MOWAA and its initiatives to create a cultural ecosystem in Benin City, based on the art of the past, present and future. A number of artists have generously agreed to donate original works of art to the auction, including Yinka Shonibare, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Lakwena Maciver and Victor Ehikhamenor. Proceeds from the sale of the works will go towards MOWAA initiatives including the presentation of the Nigeria Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia, 2024—commissioned by the Governor of Edo State and also curated by Aindrea Emelife—and the 20-acre Creative Campus, including the Rainforest Gallery. Designed by the Dakar-based architecture firm Worofila, the Rainforest Gallery will be dedicated to showcasing Modern and Contemporary art, as well as historic exhibitions.
The self-taught artist known as Àsìkò—which means ‘time’ or ‘the moment’ in Yoruba—was born in London to Nigerian parents in 1978. The family moved back to Nigeria a short while later, before returning to London when Àsìkò was a teenager. His twin upbringings went on to inform a deeply personal photographic practice, which developed out of a series of expressive self-portraits. Drawing on Yoruba mythology, his own experiences and wider themes of masculinity, feminism and diasporic identity, he stages striking images of Black subjects against dramatic, often symbolic backdrops. The ‘She is Adorned’ series honours powerful women, using digital collage to layer the images in ornate beads, fabrics and golden jewellery. They recall influences as diverse as Wangechi Mutu, Tim Walker and Gustav Klimt. More recent works, inspired by Yoruba deities, are made using a combination of studio photography, digital editing and artificial intelligence techniques. Àsìkò found parallels between these divinities—known as Òrìshàs—and Western mythological figures. The Òrìshà Olokun is a sea spirit, like the Greek Poseidon; the fearsome Sango casts thunderbolts to earth, like his Norse counterpart Thor. Àsìkò’s works celebrate the beauty of his heritage and look forward to a future shaped by new perspectives, resonances and connections.
Based in London, Àsìkò has exhibited work across the UK, the United States and Nigeria. He installed a monumental globe sculpture in Trafalgar Square as part of the public project The World Reimagined in 2022, and was included in the major group exhibition Rites of Passage at Gagosian’s Britannia Street Gallery in 2023. Àsìkò is represented by MTArt Agency.
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