Rotimi FANI-KAYODE came to the UK to escape the Nigerian Civil War, he  arrived in Brighton with his family in 1966. Rotimi's timeless photographs  constitute a profoundly personal and political exploration of complex  notions of desire, diaspora, and spirituality. Fani-Kayode remains one of the  most significant names in the history of photography in the UK, his large scale studies of the black male body becomes the focal point of a  photographic enquiry to imaginatively interpret the boundaries between  spirituality and notions of cultural difference. His work explores notions of  ancestral rituals and a provocative, multi-layered symbolism that are fuse  together archetypal motifs from European and African cultures and  subcultures. Rotimi was a founding member of Autograph, who have kindly  loaned us this image, he was actively engaged in the Black British art scene  during the 1980s in London. His photographs explore identity and  masculinity as a language of sensitivity, otherness and ambiguity.  Rotimi identified as an “outsider” which motivated him throughout his life.  His works are beautifully staged and crafted portraits, sometimes quietly  monochromatic and others use saturated colour, to create a sensual and  tender visual statement. His photographs are infused with a powerful and  honest subjectivity that have evolved from an artist determined to  transgress the boundaries imposed both on his life and his work.  

Khadija Saye

Born July 1992 London, Died Jun 2017 Grenfell Tower London

Peitaw, 2017  

From the series: Dwelling: in this space we breathe  

Wet plate collodion tintype on metal  

Image courtesy of the Estate of Khadija Saye 

in memory of Khadija’s life and work there is now a Khadija Saye IntoArts  Programme to support young people to access arts training 

Mohammadou Saye also known as Ya-Haddy Sisi Saye a Gambian British photographer who developed her own visual language using wet  plate collodion tintypes. Her photography is an exploration of race, identity  and belief, her many successes include exhibiting at the Diaspora Pavilion,  Venice Biennale in 2017. 

Khadija’s series of wet plate collodion tintypes are self portraits and include  very minimal personal detail such as sacred objects, amulets , personal  items that she uses to represent her ‘otherness’.  

Saye followed a journey of self reflection and search for her own identity.  Her Gambian cultural heritage and interest in African ritual fed into the  series of work that would become Dwelling: in this space we breathe. The  exhibition catalogue describes the series as ‘the migration of traditional  Gambian spiritual practices and the deep rooted urge to find solace within a  higher power’. 

The journey of making wet plate collodion tintypes is unique, each image  has its own story to tell, a metaphor for individual human spiritual  exploration. Her collaboration with Almudena Romero enabled Khadija to  develop her own visual language, and a method suitable to expressing  spiritual solace. “The journey of making wet plate collodion tintypes,” her  artist statement notes, “is unique: no image can be replicated and the final  outcome is beyond the creator’s control”. 

Art in Romney Marsh is honoured to be exhibiting Peitaw a beautiful portrait  of the artist wearing a gele and an elegant cowrie bracelet while her mouth  is full of cowrie shells. The shells, which were once used as currency across 

Africa, are a nod to indigenous wealth and, combined with the gele,  perhaps denote ceremonial regality.