Tonye Ekine is bridging tradition and modernity in art

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Modern art is dynamic and somewhat fluid, and in such a creative field, Tonye Ekine can be considered a creative force and a touchstone of culture. Currently residing in Britain and originally from Nigeria, Ekine’s work connects tradition with modernity.

The young artist was recently hailed as one of Britain’s 40 up-and-coming contemporary artists by the Royal Society of British Artists. After the globally acclaimed fellowship at the Venice Biennale as the British pavilion fellow under John Akomfrah this year, the young artist’s star is a name swiftly ascendant in the current British art scene.

The artwork of Ekine is a raw and passionate crusade that explains the ordinary wonders of life in a quite different way. He uses any artistic object, such as the Ife mask, as a masterly unifying one in the modern setting. Combining traditional African iconography with a modern thematic message creates a powerful story that intertwines African history and viewers’ present state, creating a mind-bending effect. The Ife mask operates as an anchor for both the past and present for Ekine and his Yoruba cultural background. It is not as simple as this aesthetic but embodies preserving tradition while seeking modernity and relevance.

The beginning of Ekine as an artist began in Ibadan, Nigeria. These were the formative years; he spent them at the University of Ife, a colourful artistic university with a cultural background and artistic base. Literally, situations that arose from being a native of Ibadan and attending Ife established the artistic outlook of the Ekine. This early exposure helped mould his perception and special understanding of the cultural significance of his roots, which fuels his creativity to this day.

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In 2021, Ekine relocated to Britain, which was a major point in his career. He was rooted in the vast collection of British art and discovered a new purpose to his mission here. Due to such a transition, Ekine developed a more disillusioned outlook by seeing what other countries had to offer and steered him into different spectrums of experiencing the world of art as it offered him another dimension to the large society of artistic individuals worldwide.

Ekine’s artistic evolution brought him to the one-man show for the first time, One Of Us, which took place in March 2024 and was presented by Steingold Contemporary. Every work in the series invites viewers to reflect on various small, significant occurrences in people’s lives and reveal the values that unite society. The exhibition is about the abracadabra of everyday existence, making people think about the essence of life and the complicated issues of average days.