5 Outstanding African Body Paint Artists

Dan Oketch is a Nairobi based contemporary artist whose art speaks both pain and pleasure.

Most of his designs include a continuous array of 5s; a pattern inspired by a number of things. There are handcuffs as a representation of the time he was an inmate. The continuity of the 5s symbolizes chains. Both the handcuffs and chains also symbolize eventual freedom, as they break/open eventually.

Laolu Senbanjo, a former human rights lawyer in Nigeria, is a New York based artist who shot to fame after collaborating with Queen B, Beyoncé, on her Lemonade album.

His art is heavily influenced by his native Yoruba culture, history, and spirituality; with an incorporation of ancient Nigerian codes and symbols.

Senbanjos methodology is translating the personalities and vibe of the people he works on into shapes, patterns and lines that hold a meaning.

It is for this reason that no two of his patterns are ever the same. No two people have identical personality traits, right?

There’s however one identical trait in his design concept: the narrative, which is strength, confidence and pride.

A graphic designer and, of course, a body paint artist, Mr. Salamis art is unapologetic, poetic, fierce and revolutionary. How unconventional he is is also mind blowing. How, you wonder? Most of his latest works have been some form of activism; from spreading body positivity, raising awareness on domestic and gender-based violence to joining the recent #ENDSARS campaign (a campaign calling for the end of police brutality in Nigeria). His is art that starts conversations and triggers change in one way or another. He uses his Xtrovarts platform for this.

Gerald Nsakie, @geraldo.360 on Instagram, is a Ghanaian muralist and canvas painter whose body art is majorly glow-in-the-dark; a concept that is an embodiment of unlimited radiance, shine and metaphorical glow against a dark culture. In the literal sense, seeing the glow in total darkness brings him joy. Also, glow in the dark to the artist is a sign of hope.

Over his 8 years of exploring these forms of art, Gerald has evidently mastered the art of perfection as well. How did he achieve his genius? I listen to my mind,he tells me. My mood sometimes determines what I paint, other times I follow a theme based on what’s happening. George also puts in extra effort to get the results he (or his client) prefers, including studying the paints and patterns, plus a lot of practice and experimentation both indoors and outdoors in isolation.

A favorite of Busingye’s works of art is on two mannequin heads. He calls them crazy, dumb freaks. The combination of neon colors, curves, tribal patterns and a Yin and Yang symbol is just the perfect blend. He also does and canvas art and is a sculptor based in Kampala, Uganda.