The Hood Museum acquires works by Rotimi Fani-Kayode

Hales is thrilled to announce that the Hood Museum have acquired three works by Rotimi Fani-Kayode, purchased through the William S. Rubin Fund.

Rotimi Fani-Kayode was born in 1955, in Lagos, Nigeria to a prominent Yoruba family before moving to England following the outbreak of civil war. Fani-Kayode is a highly influential figure in the history of art who, despite a tragically brief career, produced a complex body of photographic work that explored themes of race, sexuality, spirituality, and the self.

At the core of Fani-Kayode's art was an emphasis on difference and otherness. The status of 'outsider' was one with which he identified on multiple fronts - from his 'geographic dislocation' to the exclusion he experienced as a result of his sexuality and artistic career - and which motivated him throughout his life. Fani-Kayode's powerful legacy continues to speak to urgent issues concerning identity politics, belonging and desire, and has deeply impacted subsequent generations of contemporary artists and photographers.

 

 

Rotimi Fani-Kayode

The Hood Museum at Dartmouth College