Bunmi Agusto’s practice follows the inhabitants of a surrealist wonderland in her mind called Within. She uses this world as an exploratory site for how psychological and cultural theories contribute to the construction of selfhood. The indigenous inhabitants of Within are hybrids whose mutations are based on objects the artist finds integral to her sense of self and culture. Human family members, friends and passersby are also present in Within as cross-reality migrants who were subsumed into the world after encountering the artist in her waking life. She works predominantly with pastel pencils and mixed media on paper.
Agusto earned her BA in Fine Art in 2020 from Central Saint Martins where she graduated with First Class Honours and was awarded the Cass Art Prize twice. In 2022, she earned an MA in the History of Art & Archaeology at SOAS University with a theoretical focus on the influence of West African spirituality in contemporary fantasy storytelling. She is now an MA candidate at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford where she has been awarded the Clarendon Scholarship for outstanding academic merit. Bunmi Agusto has been the subject of solo exhibitions at TAFETA, London (2022) and DADA Gallery (2021). Select group exhibitions include ASSEMBLE, V.O Curations Mayfair, London (2022); 1-54 x Christie’s, London (2021); Now, Now, TAFETA,