What's on in London: Rotimi Fani-Kayode

Originally from Nigeria, Rotimi Fani-Kayode and his family moved to the UK in 1966 to escape the Nigerian civil war. Rotimi was 11 years old at the time.

After studying in the US in the late-70s and early-80s, Rotimi made his home in the London neighbourhood of Brixton, were he lived from 1983 until his death in 1989.

His studio was a creative hub for his friends and social circle, and Rotimi established himself as an influential photographer.

Rotimi's work centred queer black self-expression and identity - dissolving the boundaries between reality and fantasy, exploring culture, intimacy, desire, and pain.

Autograph - the Association of Black Photographers - is currently showcasing the work of Rotimi Fani-Kayode in an exhibition titled The Studio - Staging Desire. This is a free exhibition within Autograph's Shoreditch headquarters.

Fani-Kayode's work draws on the Yoruba spirituality of Nigeria but also highlights the tension of being an "outsider" in terms of both sexuality and race.

"My reality is not the same as that which often presented to us in western photography..." wrote Fani-Kayode in 1988. "As an African working in a western medium, I try to bring out the spiritual dimensions in my pictures so that concepts of reality become ambiguous and are opened to re-interpretation. This requires what Yoruba priests and artists call a technique of ecstasy."

Rotimi's career was cut short when he died of AIDS-related illnesses.

Rotimi Fani-Kayode: The Studio – Staging Desire is on in London until 22 March