Thematically, Ayo Folayan’s works provide commentary on the African and black experience while visually, they provide ready-made answers to the age-old question of how black bodies should be represented within media. His pictures often have a lacquered sleekness, vivid
for their sharpness, brightness, and willfulness. Ayo Folayan’s photographs serve as templates for how black skin should be rendered through the lens: luminous, vivid, and magnetic.
The artist lavishes attention on makeup in his work, while the costumes his models wear are equally vital to the compositions. Projects like Woman of Colour, with its flamboyant attire, poised subjects, and faultless lighting, could easily double as high-fashion campaigns. “The contrast of textures—sleek skin, structured adornments, and vibrant florals—creates a striking interplay between softness and strength. Every detail is intentional,” Folayan has said of the series. It stands as a master class in the dignified portrayal of black women in the media.
This technical mastery in depicting black bodies threads through Folayan’s entire portfolio. Crowned in Innocence exemplifies it particularly well. Conceived to juxtapose cultural heritage with individual expression, the series features dark-skinned models draped in white pearls. The interplay between their skin and the jewellery’s pallor weaves a potent visual narrative. In his artist’s statement, Folayan explained, “The beaded ornamentation, held by metal pins, conveys an aura of ritual, protection, and ornament. They invoke cultural markers of status, initiation, and affiliation—yet simultaneously subvert and redefine traditionally gendered forms of adornment.”
Ayo Folayan’s work celebrates black subjects across the spectrum of tone, carving a lexicon of beauty through lighting, exposure, and sartorial artistry. Diaspora Bloom, for instance, centres a dark-skinned woman from the fairer end of the complexion range, yet Folayan’s technique loses none of its lustre. Here, a model stands in full Yoruba regalia before a wall etched with spiritual symbols; another frame captures her holding an irukere, the horsetail whisk that signifies royalty. “This series invites viewers to witness the vibrant continuation of African identity,” the artist has noted, “where heritage is not merely preserved but flourishes, reshaped by the diaspora’s ever-expanding reach.” One senses the project mirrors Folayan’s own life as a photographer working abroad.
In a tentative venture into street photography, the artist’s series Brotherhood examines the dynamics of male camaraderie, distilled into images of two young boys. “This series captures the essence of shared experiences, silent protection, and unwavering loyalty—a bond that transcends words,” he remarked. The project feels scant in scope—two photographs can only gesture toward the vastness of such a theme—yet within these frames, the artist’s intent crystallises. “Each image speaks to the depth of companionship,” Folayan added, “whether through the determined gaze of boys standing shoulder to shoulder or the quiet solidarity of two figures facing the sea’s expanse. These portraits reflect the unbreakable ties that shape identity, where love, struggle, and trust braid into lifelong brotherhood.”
Folayan has also experimented with generative A.I., as seen in Golden Resilience, a series of ethereal black figures veined with golden cracks—an allusion to kintsugi, the Japanese practice of mending broken objects with gold lacquer, thus beautifying their fractures. Through Folayan’s vision, the work becomes an allegory for resilience amid the violences of black history. “A visual narrative of rebirth,” he called it. “Adorned in rich embroidery and regal textures, she stands as both guardian of heritage and emblem of fortitude. The gold-laced fractures map a story of survival, turning rupture into radiance.”
Folayan’s work has been exhibited at galleries across the U.K, Europe, and Africa, including the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Gallery (RBSA), Bristol’s Circular Art Space, London’s Boomer Gallery, Our Heritage UK, Espacio Gallery (London), and the Glasgow Gallery of Photography. His acclaimed series Woman of Colour and Gilded Roots earned praise from the R.B.S.A. for melding ancestral storytelling with contemporary visual grammar.
