16/11/2021
Catching up with Adébayo Bolaji at the weekend was worth every last minute of the long trek from Wales to London. Adé is an artist who I am blessed to be able to call a friend and is a fantastic role model for my young son.
Bolaji should be the industry definition of the term “multi-disciplinary artist”. Not simply because of his varied practices, but because he absorbs and utilises absolutely everything at his disposal. Art, theatre, music, fashion, words, film, people. He is constantly looking, thinking and reflecting back. His reflections, even when complex and painful, always contain hope and joy.
More than multi-disciplinary, Bolaji is multi-disciplined. I have never met a person with a stronger and more conscientious work ethic, yet he still feels so impossibly free. He has an almost fanatical control over himself and how he is represented, yet is so laid back and as smooth as honey. He is deadly serious and analytical while at the same time embracing the spontaneous and the absurd. He is confident without arrogance, he wants to learn from everyone and everything. He exudes pride from every pore, never ever the victim, always the trailblazer.
He brings possibility and dreams from his work into our spheres and we are so blessed that he is making his mark in our time. Long live the King!
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