Okiki Akinfe

Okiki Akinfe reimagines the conventional archive through a Black lens, challenging stereotypes and centering Black experiences. Her practice explores the interplay between visibility and invisibility, placing Black figures in non-social, non-geographical spaces that exist on their own terms and in their own time. This approach creates a world-building effect, where the figures rest in the perseverance of time, free from external societal constructs. Akinfe's work delves into the social body language of archetypal behaviors, questioning how these projections are displayed and subverted. Influenced by Carl Jung's theory of the Animus Projection, her paintings comment on the creation of space within her practice to provide independent existence. The environmental landscapes in her works serve as characters themselves, reflecting human behavior and psyche. Her paintings become both portal and provocation, inviting viewers into a world where identity and belonging are explored through a nuanced and layered lens. Akinfe constructs visual narratives that investigate memory, personal experience, and cultural references, offering a contemplative space for examining the politics of everyday life. ...