BOLAJI AKANJI

Akanji Bolaji is a Nigerian figurative painter based in Lagos, Nigeria. His paintings are notable for the use of long necks and with unpredictable mood background strokes of surrealist dreamy symbols of Surrealism and pop abstraction. His way of exploring the complexity of humans and the ideal of the concept of beauty using the long neck as the prime cultural symbol. His body of work explores its subjects in mannerist style and form, a body of works that capture a compositional narrative of the perfect and imperfection of black beauty. His practice as an artist focuses on telling his story to a group of people unfamiliar with his artistic practice and his development to connect with his viewers through his figurative expressions showing his audience the concepts around black beauty experiences, philosophy and cultures, whilst emphasising the connectivity and contrast between contemporary African mannerist style with European mannerism.