About
Christopher BalogunAbout Ajiese
An exploration of identity, culture and memory through contemporary digital portraiture.
Biography
Christopher Balogun, known artistically as Ajiese, is a Leicester-based artist developing a contemporary digital collage and portraiture practice rooted in identity, culture and memory.
His work explores people, clothing, adornment and everyday visual references through bold geometric forms, colour, pattern and distortion.
Working primarily through digital image-making, he reconstructs familiar subjects using simplified geometry, exaggerated proportions and graphic composition.
His portraits move between representation and abstraction, allowing recognisable people and cultural references to become expressive visual narratives.
With a background in Design Innovation and Management from De Montfort University, Balogun brings a considered approach to composition, visual communication and experimentation.
He is currently developing a body of work for exhibitions, public presentation and print sales.
The ideas behind the work
My practice explores identity, culture and memory through contemporary digital portraiture.
Drawing from Nigerian people, clothing, adornment and everyday visual references, I create bold compositions using geometric forms, colour, pattern and distortion.
My work moves between representation and abstraction, reconstructing familiar subjects into expressive visual narratives.
Through this approach, I explore how identity is communicated, remembered and experienced, while bringing cultural references into contemporary digital art.
Themes and interests
- 01
Identity
Exploring how people represent themselves and how identity is communicated through appearance, clothing and personal expression.
- 02
Culture
Drawing from Nigerian cultural references, traditional clothing, adornment, patterns and everyday visual language.
- 03
Memory
Reconstructing familiar people, forms and visual experiences through contemporary digital compositions.
- 04
Human connection
Exploring relationships, care, belonging, fatherhood and shared experiences.
Background
- Based in
- Leicester, United Kingdom
- Studied
- Design Innovation and Management, De Montfort University
- Practice
- An independent contemporary art practice in digital portraiture and collage
- Now
- Exhibiting, building an international audience, and developing a body of work for exhibitions, public presentation and print sales