Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé (born 1963) is a Nigerian-born British artist and scientist known for his Unmasking series which innovated with early 3D technology in the 1990s. A founding member of the Street Level Gallery in Glasgow and curator at the Cambridge Darkroom Gallery, he has been exhibiting internationally since the 90s. At the

documenta X documenta X was the tenth edition of documenta, a quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. It was held between 21 June and 28 September 1997 in Kassel, Germany. The artistic director was Catherine David. This was the first time a woman was ap ...

organised by Catherine David in 1997, he won international acclaim. Currently, he is a civil servant and member of the UK Government Science & Engineering Profession.

Early life and education

Ola Bamgboye was born in Odo-Eku, Nigeria in 1963 as the second of seven children to Salome and Ezra Bamgboye. In 1975 the family emigrated to Glasgow, Scotland. After 6 years in Scotland, the family moved back to Nigeria in 1981 while he remained in Scotland to continue his studies.

/ref> In 1985 he received a

Bachelors of Science Bachelors of Science is the stage name of Phil "Rene" Collis, Chris Doe and Lukeino Argilla. They met in California and formed a successful act, quickly becoming one of the top drum and bass producers in the electronic music scene. Focusing pri ...

in Chemical & Process Engineering (BSc) from the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

and in 1998 graduated with Distinction from the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Digital Media & Philosophy of Art. Bamgboye was awarded three residencies; in 1992 the International Artist in Residence Award located at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada. Then in 1999 at ArtPace in San Antonio, Texas he would again be awarded with the International Artist in Residence. Finally in 2000

V2_Lab V, or v, is the twenty-second and fifth-to-last letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''vee'' (pronounced ), plural ...

and Witte de Wit would award him the Koninkrijk der Nederlanden artist in Residence Scholarship.

The Unmasking series

The Unmasking series was developed and exhibited in three parts and, as noted in the Unmasking-3 Framework, was ''"a logical development of the artist’s general inquiry into the prevalent issues of cultural ethics, the role of a future art practice, and finally making sense of the artist’s interest in the intersection of technology, culture, art, philosophy and politics."'' First conceptualised when Bamgboye was at Slade in 1998, it continued during his residency at ArtPace in 2000 and finally culminated in 2001 at

Witte de With Witte Corneliszoon de With (28 March 1599 – 8 November 1658) was a Dutch naval officer. He is noted for planning and participating in a number of naval battles during the Eighty Years War and the First Anglo-Dutch war. Early life and chil ...

. Utilising cutting edge technology for the era, Bamgboye tested the boundaries of art ownership and commodification by scanning artefacts held in museums and notably the Queen Mother Head, a 16th-century bronze sculpture from Benin, Nigeria, held by the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. He developed the series with scholars, computer programmers and scientists, publishing the Unmasking 3 Framework with coauthors David England and Ming Tai. Unmasking 3, as a research project and framework, was a joint collaboration with the Foundation for Creative Technology and V2_. As a lecturer at Bridge the Gap, he focused on his interest in quantum physics and its potential applications in his Unmasking series, the influence of which can be seen in his Yokohama installation of Unmasking-3. Ola-Unmasking3-Yokohama-JP

Exhibitions

Publications

Writings on Technology and Culture Unmasking 3-A Framework for the Interactive African Art Museum Before & Beyond

Honours, awards and nominations

Awarded the ''Richard Hough Prize for Photography'' (1992), Scotland. Awarded the ''

Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ( pt, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One of ...

Grant'' (1993) Nominated for '' The Vincent van Gogh Biennial Award for Contemporary Art in Europe'' (2000)

Reviews and news

Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé (review), Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art Interview with Oladélé A. Bamgboyé, Journal of Contemporary African Art ART IN REVIEW; Oladele Bamgboye, NY Times Oladélé Bamgboyé, The Unmasking, Part II and Earlier Photoworks,

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

For a few euros more , Art and design,

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

Thick and thin, The Guardian Into Africa, artnet.com Magazine Oladélé Bamgboyé, The Unmasking, Part II, New York Arts Magazine From, Witte de With, centrum voor hedendaagse kunst Exhibition Histories - The Short Century, C& Oladele Bamgboye, Artist of the Month (article), New York Contemporary Art Report Anima Mundi (review), ETC Documenta X - Reclaiming the political project of the avant‐garde, Third Text Moving In. Eight contemporary African artists, Flash Art International Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé, BE Magazin The White Aesthetic Necessitated by the 'Glasgow Miracle'

References

External links

List of artist publications on WorldCat

List of artist publications on Jisc Library Hub Discover
1963 births Living people British scientists {{improve categories, date=October 2023