Rotimi Fani-Kayode: Tranquility of Communion
A major publication bringing previously unseen photographs and drawings together with new research, illuminating an artist who transformed Black and queer self-representation.
Pre-orders available now. Ships 22 September.
Product Description
One of the most important photographers in contemporary art, Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955-1989) transformed the possibilities of Black and queer self-representation during a career spanning only six years.
Drawing on Yoruba cosmology and his experience of migration and exile, he challenged fixed ideas about race, sexuality and belonging. His richly symbolic images blur the boundaries between the sacred and the erotic, opening up new ways of seeing the body and the self.
Working from his studio in Brixton, south London, Fani-Kayode used gesture and pose to present the Black male body as a site of tenderness, pleasure and possibility. His carefully staged photographs explore how desire, spirituality and cultural memory intersect to shape the self.
Across black-and-white and colour photographs, archival material and never-before-shown drawings from his student years, Tranquility of Communion reveals the breadth of Fani-Kayode’s practice. The book also includes his influential 1988 essay ‘Traces of Ecstasy’, alongside recollections by those who knew him, critical interpretations, and responses by artists influenced by his work. Together, these perspectives deepen our understanding of his radical vision and its enduring impact.
Featuring writing by Rotimi Fani-Kayode alongside Ajamu X, Dawoud Bey, Wendy A. Grossman, Eric Gyamfi, Lyle Ashton Harris, Suyin Haynes, Alex Hirst, Kobena Mercer, Athi-Patra Ruga, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Olabisi Obafunke Silva, Mark Sealy and Gaëtane Verna.
Published by Autograph, London. Alongside his practice as an artist, Fani-Kayode was one of the first chairs of Autograph.
About the Artist
Rotimi Fani-Kayode (born 1955, Lagos, Nigeria – died 1989, London, UK) is a widely recognised and seminal figure in contemporary art. At the core of his practice is a critical emphasis on the cultural politics of difference.
Fani-Kayode was born into a prominent Yoruba family before moving to England following the 1966 outbreak of civil war in Nigeria. He studied at Georgetown University and the Pratt Institute in the USA, before settling permanently in London in 1983 where he lived and worked until his early death from a short illness on 21 December 1989.
His photographs have been exhibited internationally since 1985, with numerous solo and group exhibitions. In 2003, his work featured in the African Pavilion at the 50th Venice Biennale, and today his works are represented in major public and private collectors. Many of Fani-Kayode’s photographs were created in collaboration with his late partner Alex Hirst, collected in the posthumous publication Rotimi Fani-Kayode and Alex Hirst: Photographs (1996). Alongside his practice as an artist, Fani-Kayode was one of the first chairs of Autograph, London.
Product Specification
Co-published 2026 by Autograph, London and [? Wexner?]
Edited by Mark Sealy and Gaëtane Verna
8 pages cover, 236 pages
Thread-sewn paperback with flaps, 24 × 31 cm
ISBN 978-1-899282-32-6
Delivery
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