Like a modern African Caravaggio, Babajide Olatunji loves to experiment with hyper-realistic painting and the trompe l'oeil technique which he creates using acrylic colours, charcoal, casein and pastels. Nigerian, with a degree in botany, Babajide Olatunji is a self-taught artist who focuses on his country's cultural heritage, particularly the Yoruba tradition. In the portraits of the Tribal Marks series he brings to the foreground the ancient practice of facial scarification which is very widespread within Nigerian ethnic groups, i.e. the permanent scars on the skin produced with knives, razors, shells, sharp stones which are signifiers of identity and tribal heritage. The portraits are never realistic faces: they arise from the artist's interpretation of the dialogue with various individuals. Olatunji's Aroko series also draws on Nigerian tradition and features drawings of a cryptic messaging system used by the Yoruba based on physical objects.
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