Sanjo Lawal
My work explores what it means to carry weight—cultural, emotional, historical—and still rise with grace. Rooted in Yoruba and our African heritage, I use photography, fashion, and symbolism to reflect the complex beauty of identity. The lace, the caps, the headties—these are not just adornments. They are crowns, burdens, histories, and dreams. In a world that often asks us to shrink, my art insists on presence. I create characters who carry their stories openly, and in doing so, offer others permission to do the same.
Heavy is the Head is a visual exploration of dignity and transformation. Through stylized portraits and constructed worlds, this show draws attention to the metaphorical and literal weight we carry particularly as today’s people in the motherland and as visionaries. My works ask: What does it mean to wear a crown made from experience? How do we hold beauty and pain at once? Each image balances elegance with endurance, inviting viewers to witness not just the aesthetics of tradition, but the emotional truth within it.
Sanjo Lawal is an award-winning Nigerian photographer and multidisciplinary artist whose work received the Hiscox Assurances Award at AKAA Art Fair Paris, where he was also selected as the central image artist a rare distinction that marked him as one of the most celebrated visual voices of his generation. In 2025, Lawal became the first fine art photographer featured in Rolling Stone Africa’s limited edition magazine, a landmark recognition that further solidified his presence. As a photographer and multidisciplinary artist living and working in Lagos, Nigeria, Lawal’s work is deeply influenced by his environment. Nigeria is inhabited by the largest demographic of diverse ethnic groups in Africa, with over 525 native languages spoken. His appreciation of Nigerian culture heightened his curiosity to experience and explore the vast nuance of cultural differences of the Nigerian people. Sanjo Lawal studied Visual Art at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria.
His work has been exhibited widely, across institutions and continents:
•Cape Town Art Fair – South Africa
• AKAA Art Fair – Paris, France (Award Winner & Central Image)
•This Is Not A White Cube
•Portugal (Embodied Narratives)
• S.M.O Contemporary Gallery – Lagos (Journeys)
• Discovery Museum – Abuja, Nigeria (Afrotopia)
• La Belle Étoile Gallery – Arles, France (Artist Residency)
• National Gallery – Singapore
• Ordinals Summit – Amsterdam (as the first West African photographer on Bitcoin Ordinals)
His photographs have been featured in Apple, Vogue Italia (Best of PhotoVogue), Forbes Africa, Jeune Afrique, Focus Magazine, Arts Magazine, Guzangs, and Noire Magazine, which named him one of the Top 10 Visionary Photographers in Africa
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