“The Beautyful Ones” Series #1c
by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, 2014
© Njideka Akunyili Crosby
Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro, London/Venice. Photographer: Joshua White

This display brings together new and existing works from Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s ongoing series, “The Beautyful Ones”, which comprises portraits of Nigerian youth including some members of the artist’s family. Akunyili Crosby was born in Nigeria in 1983 and moved to the United States at the age of sixteen, where she has lived and worked ever since. Drawing on artistic, historical, political and personal references, Akunyili Crosby creates densely layered figurative compositions that conjure the complexity of contemporary experience. Her cultural identity combines strong attachments to the country of her birth and to her adopted home, a hybrid identity that is reflected in her work. Akunyili Crosby has made new works especially for this display, which are being exhibited here for the first time.

Funded by the William Brake Charitable Trust, with additional support from Victoria Miro, London / Venice.