In His Own Image

CasildART challenges the white gaze on masculinity with In His Own Image

18th October - 8th November | CasildART, London

CasildART presents In His Own Image , a bold new exhibition reclaiming conversations about masculinity from the dominance of white, Eurocentric perspectives. Featuring twelve contemporary Black male artists, the show unapologetically centres the Black male gaze, offering visions of masculinity that are intimate, political, vulnerable, and transformative.

From Matt Small’s portraits of marginalised youth painted on discarded urban objects, to Kofi Amoateng’s tactile explorations of identity in charcoal and oil, and Gabriel Choto’s layered print-paint hybrids reflecting on intimacy and belonging, the artists collectively challenge reductive stereotypes. Stephen Anthony Davids and Richard Mensah use portraiture, symbolism, and lived experience to explore memory, resilience, and inclusion, while Christian Hiadzi blurs figuration and abstraction in emotionally charged portraits.

Sol Golden Sato channels the joy and resistance of underground Black British nightlife, while Nigatu Tsehay’s surreal figuration probes fractured memory and displacement. Eme Omeh’s narrative canvases transform childhood vulnerabilities into metaphors of care and inheritance, and Kay Gasei interrogates perception and myth through layered, illustrative compositions. Qozeem Olaoluwa reclaims Black boyhood by celebrating innocence and laughter. Natnael Ashebir explores history, memory, and belonging through drawings that create liminal spaces where past and present converge. In his Story of the Wind series, figures, landscapes, and cultural fragments emerge like shifting currents, embodying both fragility and resilience.

“Conversations about masculinity are everywhere right now, but they are almost always framed through a white lens,” says curator Sukai Eccleston. “In His Own Image unapologetically places the Black male gaze at the centre. These artists aren’t just reflecting themselves, they're reshaping how Black men are seen, by themselves, their communities, and the world.”

The exhibition also highlights the influence of family, community, love, and responsibility in shaping Black male identity. From bold self-portraits confronting the gaze head-on to layered multimedia works destabilising fixed notions of self, In His Own Image creates a vital space for narratives too often sidelined in mainstream culture.