Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé

Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé (born 1963) is a Nigerian-born British artist and scientist known for his Unmasking series which innovated with early 3D technology in the 1990s.

A founding member of the Street Level Gallery in Glasgow and curator at the Cambridge Darkroom Gallery, Bamgboyé has been exhibiting internationally since the mid-1990s. In 1997, he attended documenta X, where he won international acclaim for his work Paradigm Shift: African Stories.

Currently, he is a civil servant and member of the UK Government Science & Engineering Profession.

Early life and education

Bamgboyé was born in Odo-Eku, Nigeria in 1963 as the second of seven children to Salome and Ezra Bamgboyé. In 1975, the family emigrated to Glasgow, Scotland. After 6 years in Scotland, the family moved back to Nigeria in 1981 while he remained in Scotland to continue his studies.

In 1985, he received a Bachelors of Science in Chemical & Process Engineering (BSc) from the University of Strathclyde. He later attended the Slade School of Fine Art, graduating with a Master of Arts in Digital Media & Philosophy of Art in 1998.

The Unmasking series

The Unmasking series was developed and exhibited in three parts and, as noted in the Unmasking-3 Framework, was "a logical development of the artist's general inquiry into the prevalent issues of cultural ethics, the role of a future art practice, and finally making sense of the artist's interest in the intersection of technology, culture, art, philosophy and politics".

First conceptualised when Bamgboyé was at Slade in 1998, it continued during his residency at ArtPace in 2000 and finally culminated in 2001 at Witte de With. he focused on his interest in quantum physics and its potential applications in his Unmasking series, the influence of which can be seen in his Yokohama installation of Unmasking-3. alt=Exhibition installation at the 2001 Yokohama Triennale, Japan. Installation view of the UNMASKING 3- Release Point #1, Yokohama, Japan.

Exhibitions

Publications

Honours, awards and nominations

Awarded the Richard Hough Prize for Photography (1992), Scotland.

Reviews and news

Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé (review), Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art

ART IN REVIEW; Oladele Bamgboye, NY Times

For a few euros more | Art and design, The Guardian

Thick and thin, The Guardian

Into Africa, artnet.com Magazine

Oladélé Bamgboyé, The Unmasking, Part II, New York Arts Magazine

From, Witte de With, centrum voor hedendaagse kunst

Exhibition Histories - The Short Century, C&

Oladele Bamgboye, Artist of the Month (article), New York Contemporary Art Report

Anima Mundi (review), ETC

Moving In. Eight contemporary African artists, Flash Art International

Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé, BE Magazin

The White Aesthetic Necessitated by the 'Glasgow Miracle'