Artist Àsìkò is ‘looking back to look forward’

The work of photographer and mixed media artist Ade Okelarin, known as "Asiko," often juxtaposes aspects of his Nigerian and British heritage, combining traditional photography with artificial intelligence (AI) and digital editing techniques. This image is of Osanyin -- a deity for the Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria, who represents the forest, plants and all things medicinal.

His series "Guardians" explores cultural mythologies. In this work, Okelarin reimagines Olokun, the Yoruba goddess of the oceans, seas and wealth.

Inspired by Aje, the Yoruba deity of trade and wealth, this image is set in a Lagos marketplace, the majority of which are run by women. .

Okelarin believes his role as an artist is to raise awareness and spark conversations about issues that affect society. In the series "A Black Life Matters," he created several self-portraits as a response to the "Black Lives Matter" movement in the US. Pictured, "I Can't Breathe" (2020)

This self-portrait from 2020 is titled "The Fear Within."

Okelarin created the series "Conversations" around the practice of female genital mutilation and its effect on African communities. Pictured, "Flamboyant Burdens" (2018).

Some of Okelarin's work, like "Iya" (2021), celebrates the beauty of Black womanhood.

Okelarin says his work is "layered with emotional context" from his experiences of African cultural heritage. His series "She is Adorned" features digitally rendered collages blending imagery from Yoruba culture, layered onto indigenous Adire fabric. Pictured, "Constellations of Beauty" (2020).

His series "Manifestations" featured the Egungun masquerade -- a masked representation of and connection to the ancestors. Pictured, "Commune with the Ancestors" (2021).

In his "Woman Code" series, Okelarin delves into the symbolic meanings of the hidden codes in Adire. Pictured, "Asiri Aladire" (2018).

Okelarin takes the symbols embedded in the fabrics, which were used to convey messages at a time when women were unable to express themselves freely, and places them on his subjects' bodies. Pictured, "Oloba" (2018).

Okelarin is exploring more sculptural work, and recently created a globe as part of "The World Reimagined Initiative," a London-based outdoor art project on racial justice.