PAUL ÀJÀYÍ
Tósìn Paul Àjàyí (b. 1998, Akure, Nigeria) is a contemporary visual artist based in Lagos. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine and Applied Arts (Painting) from the University of Benin (2020).
His practice archives indigenous culture that was not passed down to him due to modern influences, reconstructing it through an autoethnographic lens and lived experience. He constructs figures using curvilinear and geometric forms, working between abstraction and figuration, to translate personal and collective experience into symbolic visual compositions.
Tósìn Paul has exhibited in several group exhibitions, including Fragments of Being (Next of Kin Series 8 Finalists Exhibition, Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Lagos, 2026), Building a Common Heritage Through Art (Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Abuja, 2025), The Relentless (National Gallery of Art, Benin, 2025), and We Are Who We Say We Are (One Art Gallery, Lagos, 2025). He was a Top 20 Finalist in the Next of Kin Art Competition (2026).
He has participated in residencies including the Lighthouse Art Community Residency (2025) and Antmen Studios Residency (2025), and his work has been featured in Contemporary Art History Magazine (Issue 1, 2025).
- 2016–2020 Bachelor of Arts (Fine and Applied Arts, Painting), University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria
- 2025–Present School of Creative Leadership, Nigeria (Under the mentorship of Jacqueline Suowari)
- 2024 Art Bootcamp, Lighthouse Art Institute, Ondo, Nigeria
- 2021–2022 Artist Assistant, Illuminaire Limited, Lagos, Nigeria
- 2019 Industrial Training (6 months), Artbullet Studio, Lagos, Nigeria
- 2025 Antmen Studios Residency, The Relentless Workshop 3.0, Benin City, Nigeria
- 2025 Lighthouse Art Community Residency, Lighthouse Art Institute, Ondo, Nigeria
- 2026 Fragments of Being, Next of Kin Series 8 Finalists Exhibition, Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Lagos, Nigeria
- 2025 One in All Art Salon, Tola Wewe Art Gallery, Ondo, Nigeria
- 2025 Building a Common Heritage Through Art, Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Abuja, Nigeria (Spanish Embassy Art Competition Finalists Exhibition)
- 2025 The Relentless, National Gallery of Art, Edo, Nigeria
- 2025 Can We Breathe, LIMCAF Art Exhibition, Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo, Nigeria
- 2025 We Are Who We Say We Are, One Art Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
- 2022 Other Side of the Wind, Ika Local Government Secretariat, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria
- 2021 Inspiring Mind, Thought Pyramid Art Centre, Abuja, Nigeria (Spanish Embassy Art Competition Finalists Exhibition)
- 2021 Aura of Africa, Brilliant Brush Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria