Lakin Ogunbanwo



About

Working at the confluence of fashion photography and classical portraiture, Nigerian photographer Lakin Ogunbanwo creates enigmatic portraits with an erotic and subversive undertone. His subjects exist defiantly in the frame often framed by shadow, drapery and foliage. His use of colour and bold compositions are influenced by the traditions African studio photography although form and silhouette are also key stylistic traits. Central to Ogunbanwo’s artistic investigation, is his desire to document the culture of Lagos; expand the contemporary African visual archive; and portray self-represented African narratives.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria in 1987 Lakin Ogunbanwo studied Law at Babcock University, Nigeria and Buckingham University, England before beginning work as a fashion photographer in 2012.His solo exhibitions include e wá wo mi  (2019), We Must Not Be Looking (2017) and Are We Good Enough (2015) at WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town. Currently his work is on exhibition on FACELESS Transforming Identity: Blak/Black Artists from North Australia, Africa and the African Diaspora at Cairs Art Gallery Australia

Group exhibitions and artfairs include Rituals and Performance: Inherent Risk, Lagos Photo Festival, Nigeria; Dey your Lane! BOZAAR, Brussels; Nataal: New African Photography, Red Hook Labs, New York; Sydney Contemporary; Carriage works, NSW, Art x Lagos; The Civic Centre, Lagos; Miart, Milan, Italy; Art Joburg, Johannesburg; Cape Town Artfair and 154 London and Marrakech.

Ogunbanwo has participated in residency  programs hosted by the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, 2019 and  the Thymi Manyele  foundation in Amsterdam 2022 . His work has been placed in many private collections. Public collections include the  National Gallery of Victoria, Australia and the Wedge Collection in Toronto, Canada. His work has been featured in the New Yorker Magazine, ID online, Architectural Digest and Vogue Italia. He has been commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London as part of their Africa Fashion exhibition and Galeries Lafayette in Paris.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2019 e wá wo mi - WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town
2017 Africa Now, Galleries Lafayette, Paris
We Must Not Be Looking - WHATIFTHEWORLD, Johannesburg
2015 Are We Good Enough - WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town
2014 New Work - WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town
Muse, Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
2013 Portraits by Lakin Ogunbanwo, Rooke and Van Wyk Gallery, Johannesburg

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024 Against the Bias: Unravelling Material Codes, Reservoir x Mount Nelson, Curated by Reservoir Projects, Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town
Significant Other - WHATIFTHEWORLD x Krone
2021 Not Angels or Algorithms, Only Human Error - WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town
2017 Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks, NSW
2016 Art x Lagos, The Civic Centre, Lagos
Rituals and Performance: Inherant Risk, Lagos Photo Festival, Nigeria
Dey your Lane!, BOZAAR, Brussels
Nataal: New African Photography, Red Hook Labs, New York
2015 Broken English, Tyburn Gallery, London
2015 Joburg Art Fair - WHATIFTHEWORLD, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Afreaka Festival, Meetings Between Contemporary Brazil and Africa, Mario de Andrade Library, São Paulo
2014 Grid Photo Bienalle, Cape Town
Uncertain Terms - WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town
Art14, London, UK
2013 The Human Condition, LagosPhoto Festival, Lagos, Nigeria
2012 Spectrum, Lagos Photo Festival, Lagos, Nigeria
The Mask, Terrakulture Gallery, Nigeria

Art Fairs

FNB Art Joburg 2023
Miart 2022
Art Rotterdam 2022