Sola Olulode's 'Burning' Exhibition at Ed Cross Explores Intimacy Through Mixed Media

Sola Olulode's exhibition 'Burning' at Ed Cross in London from 10 August to 16 September presents 28 paintings on canvas depicting black bodies in intimate moments. The British-Nigerian artist employs a bold, illustrative graphic style using diverse materials including dye, ink, wax, oil paint, pastel, acrylic, charcoal, and batik. Works like 'Sunlight' (2019) feature translucent blue wax clothing and etched yellow backdrops, while 'She walked up to me in the street and embraced me' (2023) uses soft charcoal outlines. The installation includes floor-to-ceiling hand-dyed blue fabrics in one room, creating a patchwork-boudoir effect that frames the paintings as solar documents. Olulode's figures often appear in pairs, with titles suggesting queer intimacy, though facial features remain fugitive. 'Send Nudes' (2023) uniquely depicts a single figure taking a mirror-selfie with a globular acrylic outline. Golden rays pass through transparent bodies in 'In the Bubble of Your Love' (2023) and 'The heat of your love radiates through me' (2023), while black circles in 'In the Bubble' resemble dried bubbles. The artist's material choices—from batik-masked canvases to textured acrylic—foreground physicality, creating emotional resonance between form and content.