Rotimi Fani-Kayode

Nothing to Lose IX (Bodies of Experience) (1989)

Rotimi Fani-Kayode. Nothing to Lose  IX  from the Bodies of Experience portfolio (1989)

Nothing to Lose IX (Bodies of Experience) (1989) by Nigerian-born artist Rotimi Fani-Kayode is a large-format chromogenic photograph that explores the body as a site of ritual, desire, and spiritual transformation. Created in the final year of the artist’s life, the work reflects on mortality, sexuality, and the possibility of passage within queer African art.

Close Looking: Queer African Art and Spirit

In this richly colored photograph, the artist is shown in profile, unclothed except for a leather and metal harness that crosses his neck, chest, and waist. He kneels or crouches before a standing sculptural figure with a vivid red face and a forehead marked by vertical bands of red, blue, and white.

The sculpture—created by Fani-Kayode’s collaborator Alex Hirst—does not correspond directly to any known historical African object, but evokes the visual language associated with the Yoruba orisha Eshu (Èṣù), often understood as a mediator between worlds and a figure associated with thresholds, crossings, and ambiguity.

The relationship between the two figures is complex and open to multiple readings. The positioning may suggest reverence, as the kneeling figure appears to address or submit to the standing form. At the same time, the composition carries a strong erotic charge, with the bodies aligned in ways that imply intimacy, offering, or exchange. These interpretations—spiritual and erotic—are not mutually exclusive, but held together in tension.

The title Nothing to Lose suggests a moment of release or surrender. Created in 1989, the year the artist knew he was living with HIV, the work may be understood as an embrace of uncertainty and the unknown. The sculptural figure, often read as a portal-like presence, may mark a threshold between the world of the living and the realm of ancestors or spirits.

Details within the image reinforce the connection between the two figures. The sculpture’s pendant echoes the harness worn by the artist; the coloration of the sculpture parallels the tones of the artist’s body. These visual correspondences suggest a deep affinity between them, raising the possibility that the sculpture is not wholly separate, but an externalization of the artist’s inner state—his spiritual inheritance, his desires, or his evolving sense of self.

Within the exhibition’s theme of Spirit, the work invites us to consider how the body becomes a site of encounter between worlds. Here, the physical and the metaphysical are intertwined: desire, ritual, and transformation unfold together at the threshold between life and death.

Reflect and Explore

Do you experience the relationship between the two figures as reverent, erotic, or both? How does the work invite you to think about the body as a site of spiritual encounter or transformation?

Read more

Consider the relationship between frontality and profile in the image. The sculpture faces us directly, while the artist’s body is turned in profile, partially obscured. What kinds of contrast or doubling does this create?

Compare the organs of perception in the two figures. The sculpture’s eyes are fully visible, while the artist’s face is largely hidden, with only his ear exposed. What effect does this contrast produce? Might the two figures function as complementary or interdependent forms of perception?

How erotic or sensual does the image feel to you? Does the sculpture appear to offer itself to the artist, or does the interaction move beyond the erotic into a more spiritual or symbolic register?

Compare this work with Every Moment Counts (Ecstatic Antibodies). In both images, does one figure seem to guide or elevate another toward a different state of being?

Learn More

• Read more about Rotimi Fani-Kayode’s work and legacy

• Further reading: W. Ian Bourland, Bloodflowers: Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Photography and the 1980s (2019)

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Nothing to Lose IX Rotimi Fani Kayode queer African art

Nothing to Lose IX Rotimi Fani Kayode queer African art