“My reality is not the same as that which is often presented to us in western photography. As an African working in a western medium, I try to bring out the spiritual dimensions in my pictures so that concepts of reality become ambiguous and are opened to re-interpretation. This requires what Yoruba priests and artists call a technique of ecstasy.” Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955-1989) was born in Nigeria to a prominent Yoruba family, who were the keepers of the Shrine of Yoruba Deities and priests of Ifá. He moved to England at the age of twelve to escape from the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970).
“On three counts I am an outsider,” Fani-Kayode once wrote. “In terms of sexuality; in terms of geographical and cultural dislocation; and in the sense of not having become the sort of respectably married professional my parents might have hoped for.” One can sense a wistful longing for belonging in his words. Yet, Fani-Kayode’s images are anything but; the unabashed display of the Black queer male body conveys a sense of assuredness that comes from owning your identity. There are over 30 black-and-white staged portraits, archival materials, and the posthumously produced film Rage and Desire (1991) in this exhibition. It is an invitation to engage with the work of a key contemporary artist whose practice explored themes of race, sexuality and the politics of difference.
Contained within a single floor of the gallery, it opens with portraits in which the sitter does not meet the camera’s gaze. From a man in black gloves and pearls coyly smiling at the lens, to another dressed in leather and bondage gear, and a third wielding a pair of scissors whilst a hand reaches up to him from below, Fani-Kayode presents a spectrum of desire, from self-pleasure to romantic love, kink and beyond. This show addresses questions of race, sexual orientation and representation, but it also makes a case for something more esoteric, inviting the viewer to approach its subject matter from a deeper, spiritual perspective.
Words: Shyama Laxman
Autograph, London | Until 22 March
Images: Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Untitled, 1988. Courtesy Autograph, London. © Rotimi Fani-Kayode.
