Orokie Okoth is a Ugandan artist. Having been educated in Africa and Europe, his work resonates with an awareness drawn from the wisdom of two continents. His artistry, like his humour, is rich and varied, branching towards an appreciation of European traditions in photography and fine art whilst staying rooted in Africa and its original, spiritual traditions.Like the artist Basquiat, Orokie drew passionately from an early age and created a unique and personal art. It is these years devoted to drawing the Black male that make Orokie’s figurative and digital images, today, alive and charged with what one modern critic has called, “a special atmosphere”. So often, this comes from a fusion of expressive details. It might be the precise bending of bow-like muscle in an archer’s back; or a rhythmic flow of line that remembers sensation and touch; or even the blending of television screen and caryatid headrest, and a Pan-asonic youth erected high on his throne and stool, experiencing his natural joystick! This is an absurd image, yet one that carries an important theme running through Orokie’s work: his art is a song to a tradition of natural human brotherhood (as opposed to an anthem inspired by momentary collectivism during a football game). His images ask the viewer to speculate, not spectate. The work of Orokie Okoth offers a double vision that sees satirically and sincerely, a way of looking that narrates and presents the whole body of the Black male as sensual and significant as it strives for shared love. Throughout the works of Orokie, there is a continuous exploration of community, of communication, and more importantly: communion. His figures reach out to the viewer through powerful images that speak of what he terms, “boundless energy and beauty”. They testify to the body, the mind, the spirit of the individual. At a time when so much art about the male body is either candid or candied, the artistry of Orokie Okoth stands out for its breathtaking candour. Orokie describes himself as a “free Black man” and his images reach beyond the sexual to present horizons of freedom. There is no wonder that he has begun to achieve international recognition as an accomplished artist.
Orokie Okoth is a Ugandan artist. Having been educated in Africa and Europe, his work resonates with an awareness drawn from the wisdom of two continents. His artistry, like his humour, is rich and varied, branching towards an appreciation of European traditions in photography and fine art whilst staying rooted in Africa and its original, spiritual traditions.Like the artist Basquiat, Orokie drew passionately from an early age and created a unique and personal art. It is these years devoted to drawing the Black male that make Orokie’s figurative and digital images, today, alive and charged with what one modern critic has called, “a special atmosphere”. So often, this comes from a fusion of expressive details. It might be the precise bending of bow-like muscle in an archer’s back; or a rhythmic flow of line that remembers sensation and touch; or even the blending of television screen and caryatid headrest, and a Pan-asonic youth erected high on his throne and stool, experiencing his natural joystick! This is an absurd image, yet one that carries an important theme running through Orokie’s work: his art is a song to a tradition of natural human brotherhood (as opposed to an anthem inspired by momentary collectivism during a football game). His images ask the viewer to speculate, not spectate. The work of Orokie Okoth offers a double vision that sees satirically and sincerely, a way of looking that narrates and presents the whole body of the Black male as sensual and significant as it strives for shared love. Throughout the works of Orokie, there is a continuous exploration of community, of communication, and more importantly: communion. His figures reach out to the viewer through powerful images that speak of what he terms, “boundless energy and beauty”. They testify to the body, the mind, the spirit of the individual. At a time when so much art about the male body is either candid or candied, the artistry of Orokie Okoth stands out for its breathtaking candour. Orokie describes himself as a “free Black man” and his images reach beyond the sexual to present horizons of freedom. There is no wonder that he has begun to achieve international recognition as an accomplished artist.
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