Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955-1989)

The photographs Rotimi Fani-Kayode made in collaboration with his partner Alex Hirst are a profound narrative of sexual and cultural difference, seminal in their exploration of the politics of desire, diaspora, displacement, spirituality and the black male body.

Together, they created a photographic world in which the body is the focal point for an exploration of the relationship between erotic fantasy and ancestral spiritual values. Through a strong use of symbolism – often derived from Fani-Kayode’s Nigerian culture – and vigorous use of colour and dramatic lighting, the work addressed many interlinked themes ambiguous and open-ended in their meanings and interpretations. 

Published posthumously, this book documents Fani-Kayode and Hirst's intensively productive collaborations, which spanned a mere six years from 1983 to 1989, when Fani-Kayode died aged 34.

This is a vintage edition published in 1996, with texts by Kobena Mercer, Simon Njami, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Alex Hirst, Jean Loup Pivin & Derek Bishton.

Published by Tiwani Contemporary, 2015
86 pages
15 x 21cm
ISBN 978-0-9574338-4-7

Published by Tiwani Contemporary following the exhibition Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955-1989), 2014. Produced in partnership with Autograph, with the support of the A.G. Leventis Foundation and Arts Council England.