I'm just a Boy: Group Show

Cola Boy I, 2023
Lustre RC Print on Dibond
106 cm H × 80 cm W
(41 7/10 × 31 1/2 inches)
Editions 2,3,4,5 of 5
Series: Colors of Africa

A visually striking portrait exploring commodified Black masculinity through staged simplicity. Michael fuses commercial aesthetics with political critique, presenting a figure caught between consumption and resistance, presence and invisibility. The work interrogates how bodies—especially young Black male bodies—are framed, used, and seen.

When I make my first million, 2024
Oil on canvas
115 cm H × 145 cm W
(45 3/10 × 57 1/10 inches)

A serene portrait of Black masculinity in leisure, Akinola’s work reframes presence as power. Subtle and unguarded, the subject claims space with ease, suggesting that stillness—and not spectacle—can be a radical act.

The so-called black man, 2022
Oil on canvas
90cm H x 82.5cm W
(35 ⁷/₁₆ H x 32 ³¹/₆₄ W inches)

A quiet yet assertive portrait that challenges imposed identity. With rich textures and ambiguous framing, Okolo’s work refuses stereotype, inviting the viewer to witness the fullness—and the naming—of Black male subjectivity.

I'm just a boy, 2024
Oil on canvas
72 cm H × 60 cm W
(28 3/10 × 23 3/5 inches)

A quietly powerful portrait of Black boyhood. Okoye paints emotional stillness with luminous detail, honoring presence without performance. Tender, self-possessed, and deeply human.