RAJI BAMIDELE NIGERIAN, b. 1994

Raji Bamidele is a Nigerian contemporary artist who merges hyperrealism, with figurative and conceptual creations which he calls "puzzled realism". The multi-disciplinary approach to his work, which weaves differing materials and methods belonging both to contemporary and modern art forms, calling into question the existence of time and being.
 

Raji Bamidele is a multifaceted visual artist born to Okun parents from Kogi State, Nigeria. Despite his passion for art, he had to keep his talent a secret during his primary school years, as art was not taken seriously and was perceived as a playful activity. He later went in to attend secondary school in Lagos, Nigeria, the cultural and artistic hub of the country.

 

To avoid staying idle, he pursued a 4-months diploma in Computer Science in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, before enrolling at the University of Lagos to study Surveying and Geoinformatics, before transferring to Actuarial Science, in which he obtained his first degree. As the eldest of 6 siblings , he had to take on the role of being the man of the house after losing his father at a young age. These experiences as a young man served as the foundation for his inspiration as a self-taught artist. It took significant effort to convince his family to accept his chosen path and passion for art, as he spent a significant amount of time honing his skills in his Lagos-based studio.

 

His art is strongly influenced by natural laws, mathematical and scientific principles, and philosophical beliefs and scientific theories. He focuses on examining the everyday innermost activities of mankind and seeks to instill a divine order in all that he creates. He blends hyperrealism, figurative and conceptual creations, which he refers to as "Afro-Contemporealism", with his unique techniques of gold leafing, embellishment, and texturing.

 

His multi-disciplinary approach has earned him numerous accolades, including the Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos Prize at the 2015 Life in My City Art Festival (LIMCAF), where he won the overall best (Lagos Entry). He also won the Best use of multimedia award at the 2017 LIMCAF. In 2019, he was crowned the winner of the 34th Absa L'Atelier Ambassadorship, held during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Cape Town.

 

In 2017, he was awarded the French Embassy Young Talents Award (Y.T.A), Prix de la Jeune Creation de L'Ambassade de France, as part of the LIMCAF 2017. Raji, as he is fondly called, has established himself as a prominent contemporary Nigerian artist, whose works have been showcased in various exhibitions both locally and internationally.