Kayode Ojo “An angel is just a messenger” at Maureen Paley, London

His work employs a process of sourcing, collecting and displaying objects. His sculptures reveal how items can confer social status upon their owner, examining the artifice of taste and the aspirations associated with it. Though the sculptures reflect on the markers of excess and accumulation, these carefully staged compositions also embrace the fragility and impractical beauty of their objects.

Drawing materials from fast-fashion websites and online retailers, he integrates the processes of browsing, scrolling, and acquiring into his artistic practice. In his artwork captions, Ojo quotes the original item descriptions as they appeared online, drawing attention to the search-optimised keywords that underpin the algorithmic structures that govern contemporary e-commerce.

Also featured in An angel is just a messenger are examples from an ongoing series of photographs taken in nightlife settings that capture the fleeting interactions, opulence, and eroticism of these spaces. His subjects appear at varying levels of identifiability, commenting on the levels of transparency and the access we are afforded.

The title of the exhibition is drawn from a quote by the artist’s father, a devout Evangelical Christian. “My dad says an angel is just a messenger” Ojo commented, “And what is a contemporary artist if not a messenger?”¹

at Maureen Paley, London
until May 31, 2025