Slawn — Olaolu Akeredolu-Ale, b. 2000 — is one of the most significant young artists to have emerged from the British creative scene in recent years. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, he came to painting through the skateboarding and street culture of Wafflesncream, Nigeria's first skate shop, and the London-based apparel group Motherlan — a route into art that bypassed the academy entirely and gave his practice a directness and cultural specificity that institutional training rarely produces.
His visual language sits at the intersection of street art, abstract expressionism, and the graphic instincts of someone who grew up within the visual culture of skateboarding, music, and the global African diaspora. Rooted in Yoruba heritage and engaging directly with questions of politics, race, and identity, his work attracts collectors including ASAP Rocky, Tremaine Emory, and Skepta — figures whose cultural authority in the spaces Slawn's work inhabits is considerable.
The trajectory has been exceptional. His debut exhibition at Truman Brewery in 2021 sold out. He made his auction debut at Sotheby's Contemporary Curated sale in 2022. In 2023 he became the youngest and first Nigerian-born artist to design the Brit Awards statuette and set. In 2024 he was selected to design the FA Cup Trophy. He has exhibited at Saatchi Yates and shown at The Art of Hip Hop in Miami.
His collaborative editions with Opake — the Slawn x Opake series — bring together two distinct visual languages in works that are genuinely more than either artist produces independently.
Available through Creed Gallery, Ascot, for collectors across Berkshire, Surrey, and London.
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