Tonye Ekine

Tonye Ekine is a Nigerian, London-based artist whose practice bridges figurative painting, drawing, and cultural storytelling. Rooted in the significance of African masks as vessels connecting the personal, communal, and ancestral, his work reimagines the symbolic language of the Ife bronze mask to explore identity, emotion, and the multifaceted performances of self in contemporary life.

Through emotionally charged and unconventional scenarios, Tonye constructs immersive visual narratives that invite reflection on personal and societal dilemmas. Inspired by life drawing, cinema, advertising, and everyday conversations, he carefully stages characters and symbols, working across pigment, line, canvas, and clay to create layered, thought-provoking scenes.

Instagram