Black Messiah

Name: Black Messiah
Brand: Raknida
Price: 55.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Dayo Gerard Akindoyeni

Faceted digital portrait of a Black man with a large afro circled by a glowing white ring, one eye shining like a star, in an ochre robe over one shoulder, under an arch of gold scrollwork on teal.

$55.00 – $125.00

Christ appears as a young African man with a full afro, a ring of white light at his head and an ochre robe. An arch of gold scrollwork frames him on teal.

Black Messiah is a Studio Edition: 20 museum-quality art prints in each size, each numbered in its white border. Every artwork comes with its Cultural Passport.

The Cultural Passport

Every order comes with the heritage documented.

Digital, emailed when your order ships: the work's story, the tradition it draws on and how it was made. 5 × 7 in (13 × 18 cm), ready to print and frame beside the work.

How it works →

A ring of white light circles his head like a halo laid on its side, and one of his eyes has caught a star. Dayo Gerard Akindoyeni paints his messiah with a full afro and a short beard. He has small gold hoops at the ears and a necklace of white stones. An ochre robe is thrown over one shoulder and the chest left bare. Behind him an arch of gold scrollwork rises on deep teal, the shape of an icon's frame.

Christians in Africa have long pictured Christ in their own likeness, from the painted churches of Ethiopia onward. Black Messiah stands in that line while looking entirely of now. The face is built from clean, faceted planes, like light across cut stone. He does not smile and he does not plead. He looks back, steady, one eye blazing: a saviour who resembles the people who pray to him.

Motifs in this work

Ring of white light: the halo, made modern and electric

Arch of gold scrollwork: the frame of a devotional icon

One blazing eye: divinity seen in an ordinary face

Edition: Edition of 20 in each size · 60 across all sizes. Further runs possible once a size sells out, each tagged (Run 2). Edition numbers count the works sold through Raknida; the artist may also sell their own editions of this work.
Numbering: Number, title and artist printed in the white border.
Printing: Museum-quality giclée with archival pigment inks on museum-grade cotton fine art paper.
Includes: Your numbered artwork and its Cultural Passport.

Size	Sheet	Image	Museum-Quality Print only	Framed	Available
S	9 × 12 in	7½ × 10 in	$55	+$65	20
M	18 × 24 in	16 × 21¼ in	$85	+$119	20
L	24 × 32 in	22 × 29¼ in	$125	+$179	20

The artist

Dayo Gerard Akindoyeni

Yoruba · Benin City, Nigeria · 3 works on Raknida

Dayo Gerard Akindoyeni, who works as Ghalavanqche, is a Nigerian illustrator and concept artist based in Benin City. He has a background in Fine Art and Graphic Design. His practice spans digital illustration, concept art, character design, worldbuilding and book covers. His work explores African identity, culture, beauty and everyday life through simple contemporary digital art. In his words, he creates "quiet narratives that celebrate African people and the world around them." His portraits are built from clean planes of colour, and gold appears sparingly, as a mark of worth.

View full profile →All 3 works →