Emmanuel Unaji, (1994)

Emmanuel Unaji (b.1994) a British-born Nigerian multidisciplinary artist & co-founder of award winning design company, Unaji&Co. He studied fashion design and graduated with a BA (Hons) Fine Art at Kingston University (2021) in London where he resides. Bold and unconventional, Emmanuel’s unique style is to mechanically deconstruct icons to reverse engineer the unconscious bias applied to portraiture. Influenced by popular culture and masters such as Michalangelo and Virgil Abloh, Emmanuel contemplates the Western canon and questions his place within it. ... His signature portraits combining collage, drawing and painting have gained widespread recognition in the creative industries and been featured in household institutions including Le Carreau du Temple Paris, The Royal Exchange, Tate Britain, Adidas Flagship Store, London Fashion Week and The Freemasons Hall. Coined as ‘new talent to watch’ by several publications and brands such as Forbes, British GQ and Adidas, Unaji explores the socio economic movement of the African body, sculpting his own space, at the intersection of fashion, luxury, street and fine art.
He has participated in several group exhibitions and fairs such as Letitia Wright x Flannels, Immersive Exhibition, W1Curates, London (2022), AKAA Paris 22, International Art & Design Fair, Africa First x Lys Contemporary Booth, Fashion Illustration, Acid Gallery, Lille, France (2020), Superstar Showcase, Adidas Originals x Creative Debuts, Oxford Circus, London (2020) and solo shows at Acid Gallery x Maisons de Mode, Roubaix, France (2021) and Acid Gallery x Serié Noire, Lille Centre, France (2021).