Samson Bakare (b.1993) is a Nigerian visual and multidisciplinary artist based in Lagos. Inspired by his architect father, at a young age Samson began his journey into a creative world, by drawing and writing.
Bakare is known for his portrayal of dark toned bodies with dynamic flowery background. He arrays his semi-figurative subjects in brilliant colors, making an audible aesthetic statement. The artist decided to pay extra attention on eyes, and eyebrows, a symbol of identity. Bakare became known after his collaboration with Gucci.
Samson Bakare works around the propagation of black identity and values in both contemporary and retrospective context while representing historical scenes. His narrative covers portraits of African men and women with blank expressions as they strive for cultural emancipation. Samson states that his “work is a time machine through which you can see the past and behold the future from the same standpoint.” For him, art is a way to program what is coming, it’s a periodic documentation of life. His Coptic art style has been the influence in his exploration, even as the theme and subject remain a hybrid of classicism and stylization which he calls Afro-classicism. One of his message is to see people as equal.
Samson has depicted several satirical pieces with an attempt to review the excesses of British-imperialism and racial equality. In 2018, he became a member of the Arts in Medicine Fellowship , Nigeria (an NGO established solely for the improvement of the healthcare through arts). He has been featured in both local and international exhibitions which include, Counter history (Paris 2019), Counter History Alliance Francaise (Lagos 2019) , Occupied Space exhibition (Accra, 2020).