The art of Rafiy Okefolahan is embedded in multimedia approach, yet from the conceptual perspective, it is not that heterogeneous rather it is positioned rather stiffly and seriously. At first glance, it may seem as if the artist is only enchanted with bright colors and smitten shapes. Nevertheless, by adopting abstraction as his main feature, Okefolahan is eager to subtly, but critically, undermine the collision of African and western influences in order to speak up about the subjects that he finds most troubling in his homeland. Rafiy Okefolahan was born in 1979 in Porto Novo. He studied at the École Nationale des Arts de Dakar and simultaneously trained himself in painting under glass and in photography. Then came a famous residency at La Citè Internationale des Arts de Paris and in 2008 he created the association Elowa to stimulate the creation of the visual arts in Benin and to encourage exchanges between artists. A year later, Okefolohan participated in the Professional Encounters in Contemporary Art in Ouidah , Benin, organized by PSICD BENIN (a program for cultural initiatives ) and EPA (L’Ecole du Patrimoine Africain – School of African Heritage). In 2010 Okefolahan’s association launched the Waba festival, an open-door festival in Cotonou’s artists’ studios. Over the years, the artist has exhibited in France, Spain, and Belgium and his works became part of public collections in those countries.
