"My generation and the ones after us , have come to act as Reagents who's commission is to bring a consciousness that we are the change that is expected. We must let our history teach us how to handle our present and future. Documentation must improve. Our History must be taught in schools. Our language and all forms of communication must be preserved and the use must be encouraged. A people without the knowledge of who they are, have already lost their way in the journey called life."
Ayoola is Nigerian-based painter and sculptor best known for merging figuration, abstraction and traditional motifs in his work with a focus on abstract expressionism and surrealism. Through a practice spanning 20 years, Ayoola continues to question the issue of cultural identity and placement, taking inspiration from the disciplines of archaeology and anthropology, seeking the past and the lost to guide current action.
Ayoola received his BA in Fine and Applied Arts from the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria and later completed a residency with renowned Nigerian painter Tola Wewe. He has exhibited across Africa as well as in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States and his works can be found in major corporate and private collections including the World Bank, African Finance Corporation and the Nigerian National Gallery of Arts.