Bukola Abiodun’s abstractionism draws strength from the poignant, candid catharsis which his digital portraits evoke. With her tone-blending mastery, the Nigerian photographer carves a sensitive niche, showcasing his unique meld of cyberpunk and beauty portraiture like she does on her recently-released ‘Apple Series’ photo collection.

The first photo in the series reveals a side bust shot of a young lady, cast behind an overexposed background, with her gaze fixed on a red apple she caresses close to her lips. The suspense in the moment is highlighted with her harshly lit face, revealing her ecstatic desire, strong introspection and hesitant demeanour within her gaze.

Bukola cleverly showcases depth of character in the shot with his gritty mid-tones, heavy contrast and moody hues. Within the frame, the subject’s gold earring asserts presence of self, while providing a rich contrast that exacerbates dramatic tension.

Again, Bukola’s half-dim lighting with a key light illuminating an oval slice of the subject’s bust creates a “pull effect” where her puzzling mien is emphasised. It unearths a gripping catharsis which stimulates an interrogatory feel as it combs through perspectives on the “scourge of human desire” and the “disillusion of human satiety”.

The photo expounds on the nature of consequences and the cost of desires, with Bukola’s softened neutral highlights ‘miraging’ the apple as the object of deep desire. The photo’s dreamy look suggests the idea of a fantasy being fulfilled, underlining the image with the allure of temptation.

In the second frame, Bukola explores the cyberpunk photography style, layering the same image with a bluish dystopian background of computer circuit traces. Just like the “Kipepeo” photo series by popular Kenyan cyberpunk photographer, Osborne Macharia, Bukola stoically navigates this shot with harsh lighting and metallic tones that elevate African futurism.

While the drab, introspective feel soars in the shot, the photo suffers from a lulled colour balance that distorts the overall thrill in the artwork. The violet hue contouring the subject’s face clashes with the faded whiteness on her turtleneck top and undersaturated redness on the apple. The overexposed golden-white in frame one and shiny electric blue in frame two both appear disconnected from this colour mix, unsettling the image’s overall vibrance and balance.

Alternatively, Bukola’s other recent standalone photo, “In Her Gaze” is a much powerful showcase of his contrast-heavy style in intimate portraiture. Here, she creates an extreme close-up of an aged woman with a partial spotlight illuminating the tenderness of her sober reflections. Its warm midtones and bleeding sepia gradient invite the viewer into the subject’s pontifications, gushing evenly across her sage-filled grin.

Bukola’s recent photo-treatises capture the candid moments of its subject strapped in thought. She interrogates the rationalist philosophy of man as a thinking being, showing the diversity tucked within moments of lustful temptation and deep meditation.

Both the “Apple Series” and “In Her Gaze” collections soar for their strong catharsis, dramatic tensions and creative direction. While his lighting and grading techniques dabble in risky plains, they still offer solid support to the overall creative direction. The photos brim with the visual syntax of contrast and composition, keeping the shots tight, powerful and toned with purpose.

With several years of experience, the Nigerian photographer creates conversations that echo the most spiritual facets of the human experience. Her work echoes the depths of human emotion, connecting the viewer with a poignant understanding of human nature. Her work largely celebrates the importance of “self awareness”, and she distinguishes her photo memoirs as a meld of humanist philosophy, emotive tones and futuristic fusions.