#55 In Motion, Tracing the Familiar

This year, Stephen Tayo is the artist in residence at BijlmAIR, where international and Dutch artists are invited to live and work temporarily in the Bijlmer. BijlmAIR is the residency program of CBK Zuidoost, in collaboration with Buro Stedelijk, the project space of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and the Department of Painting and Sculpture of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi in Ghana.

Stephen Tayo is an autodidact fashion, art, and culture photographer specializing in fashion, art, and culture. Through his lens, he provides a platform for social commentary on issues such as wealth, class, race, gender, and identity. Drawing inspiration from his undergraduate studies in philosophy and his deep interest in contemporary anthropology, fashion, and social justice, Tayo takes a multidisciplinary approach to capture the unique nuances of everyday life in Nigeria. Immersed in the world around him, Tayo transforms his environment into a living studio, where every corner, every shadow, are, potentially, included. His practice is an exploration of perspective, capturing the essence of life with a lens that sees (beyond) the ordinary. Each image he creates resonates with a profound impact, evoking thought and emotion, all while focusing on the familiar.

Tayo shows two works on the windows of Buro Stedelijk’s Studio Space facing the Paulus Potterstraat. Manifestation #55: In Motion, Tracing the Familiair explores Tayo’s practice in movement. While inhabiting different places and spaces such as Paris, New York, Lagos and Amsterdam, Tayo searches for the familiar. Tayo has been visiting Amsterdam for years and has worked together with many. This time he resides in the Bijlmer and continues his ongoing research into the essence of a city and the quest for the familiar.

September 15 – October 31
On view 24/7
Visible from street level

Buro Stedelijk’s Studio Space
Paulus Potterstraat 13
1071 CX, Amsterdam