Artist: Ayobami Adelaye

Ayobami Adelaye (b. 1987) is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, mixed media, and occasional sculptural experimentation. His work moves fluidly between abstraction and figuration, often merging chaos and control to explore the emotional depth of the human experience.

Born in Ibadan and raised in Lagos, Adelaye began his artistic journey as a graphic designer before devoting himself fully to painting in 2017. The cultural intensity of Lagos - its rhythm, contradictions, and resilience - profoundly shaped his visual language. Through expressive brushwork and saturated colour, Adelaye distills complex human emotions into raw, gestural compositions that blur the boundary between satire and sincerity.

Since relocating to the United Kingdom in 2022, his work has evolved to reflect themes of exhaustion, displacement, and psychological tension in modern life. The series “Overexposure” (2023) exemplifies this shift — a bold exploration of sensory overload and vulnerability in an information-saturated world. His distorted, wide-eyed figures capture both humour and fragility, prompting reflection on what it means to feel seen yet overwhelmed.

Adelaye’s work has been exhibited in Nigeria, the UK, and the United States, with features in Divide Magazine, Art Hole, and Clearline Zine. His pieces are held in private collections across Lagos, London, and New York. Guided by improvisation and intuition, Adelaye continues to push the expressive possibilities of paint, turning introspection into a universal language of emotion and resilience.