Ayo Banton: Brutiful

Doyle Wham is delighted to present Brutiful, the first solo presentation of British Jamaican artist Ayo Banton. The exhibition opens on the 13th of September at Wilton Way Gallery in Hackney.

His series Brutiful is a profound exploration of personal and collective consciousness, rooted in the artist’s upbringing and sensory experience of sacred spaces. Each artwork is a photograph of a unique flower sculpture created by the artist, who has been developing his practice of flower-arranging for over three decades. Set against hand-painted backdrops, these works evoke the historical context of C17th and C18th Dutch still life paintings. Banton uses chiaroscuro to heighten their emotional landscapes, and invoke profound emotions such as love, pain and hope. In this way, the artist is able to capture the beauty and tragedy in the everyday, unlocking the power of flowers to enlighten and awaken us.

At the heart of this exhibition is a custom floral installation created by the artist for the gallery window. The show will only remain open until the flowers have wilted, making its lifespan uniquely tied to the work itself.

View works by Ayo Banton on our Artsy page here.