Toyin Loye was born in Nigeria in 1959 and studied fine arts at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile Ife. His work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Nigeria, Senegal, Argentina, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Australia, USA, Germany, Spain, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands. He lives and works in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Loye's first solo exhibition in Berlin focuses on the transfer of ancient rituals and practices of various African cultures into the present and their identity creating role in society. Toyin Loye is particularly dealing with the tribal signs of the Yoruba, which have been an important part of their identity for many centuries. These markings, cut into the skin, were used for social identification of the tribe or family.
It is vital for Toyin Loye to convey the importance of these ceasing practices and to relate them to modern ideals of beauty. Especially tearing apart his preferred medium of paper implies not only the destruction of the surface but also implies the access to a deeper level. Loye tells this narrative through partial photography and abstract works, the surface of which is opened by fine cracks that give access to another level.
