“Chromatic deconstruction and identity”: the nuances of African identity in America through the art of Boluwatife Oyediran

Migration, often treated through the prism of cold objectivity, conjures up images of unjustly populated land, rural inflation and economic tensions. Yet behind this sterile picture lies a complex reality that is rarely addressed: that of emotions, inner struggles and sacrifices. Giving up one’s everyday life, adapting to a new horizon, fighting against racial and cultural prejudice, while seeking to preserve one’s identity and roots: these are the real challenges of migration. Boluwatife Oyediran brings these struggles to life in her striking exhibition “Inverted Blackness”. Presented at the Afikaris gallery until November 23, this contemporary work sheds light on the identity mutations of immigrants arriving in the United States, immersed in a culture that often seems foreign.

Where is identity forged, and how does the sense of belonging to a community blossom? How does one integrate a new country as an immigrant? These are the poignant questions raised by Boluwatife Oyediran in her intimate portraits in shades of blue, featuring Africans in the USA. In “Inverted Blackness”, the contemporary artist boldly reveals this sometimes involuntary desire to adapt to a new existence, illustrating the metamorphosis of being. Routines, lifestyles, cuisine, passions and even clothing styles are reconfigured, sometimes without our being fully aware of it, to suit this new reality.

A victim of this foreignness himself, Boluwatife Oyediran plunges into the heart of this identity dilemma, aware of the tug-of-war between roots and aspirations. A Nigerian painter and student at the Rhode Island School of Design, he translates this emotional turmoil with poignant finesse through his palette. In “Inverted Blackness”, he depicts bright blue bodies bathed in ethereal light; a captivating visual vision that, beyond its beauty, evokes the reality of black souls tipping over into the contrast of their negativity. A vibrant and poignant testimony, where art and identity meet in an unprecedented dance.

This metamorphosis, first realized digitally before being translated onto canvas, is the essence of what Boluwatife Oyediran calls “Inverted Blackness”, the key concept of his eponymous exhibition. The Nigerian artist doesn’t just invert colors; he questions the very notion of “negative”, evoking the stigma and prejudice faced by African immigrants on American soil.

The tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have struck Boluwatife Oyediran with a new perspective on his own identity in this globalized world. Recognizing himself in the struggle of black Americans, he projects their fight through his own prism, thus reinforcing his commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement. His installation on American soil highlights a harsh reality: he is not perceived as an African-American, but rather as an African, a Nigerian, a Yoruba. He then realizes that physical appearance alone does not define identity; History, experiences and cultural contexts play equally crucial roles.

It is from this frustration of being excluded from a community that could have been his that “Inverted Blackness” emerges. Through his exhibition, Boluwatife Oyediran offers a new way of representing black skin. Eschewing brown and black, he chose a palette of varied blues, a color charged with multiple symbolism, embodying both the depth and complexity of his artistic purpose.

Boluwatife Oyediran’s large canvases capture the transitional state of immigrants, integrating decorative elements of Western lifestyle—houseplants, pets, architecture, flora, and fabrics—to illustrate their adaptation to a new environment. The work “Higher Goals (After Hammons),” a self-portrait of the artist playing basketball, symbolizes this cultural duality by marrying the American hoop with the Nigerian beaded net.

A reference to the artist David Hammons, it embodies the aspirations of immigrants, while projecting an image of an idealized America. Faced with these paintings, the viewer discovers a veritable diary of the artist, where the cerulean hues of the bodies bear witness to the metamorphosis of Africans settling in the United States, evoking a hybrid aesthetic in resonance with postcolonial theories.