Meet Kejii, a self-taught Nigerian artist making waves from the UK with work that speaks louder than words ever could. Born Balikis Badru, Kejii creates oil-on-canvas paintings that explore the tension between what we show the world and what we carry within: vulnerability rendered visible, strength hiding in plain sight. Her faceless figures have become her signature: bodies that feel rather than perform, forms that invite projection. 

Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about who you are as an artist?
My name is Balikis Badru, also known as Kejii. I'm a self-taught artist from Nigeria, based in the UK. I use art as a way to express emotions and stories that are sometimes difficult to put into words. For me, painting is not just about creating something beautiful, it's about creating something that makes people feel something and reflect.

What themes or messages do you explore through your work?
A lot of my work explores identity, emotion, and the contrast between what we show on the outside and what we carry on the inside. I'm drawn to creating figures that don't usually show their faces, because sometimes the unseen tells a deeper story. If my work can make someone pause, reflect, or feel understood, then it has done something beautiful.

What inspired this project?
I actually got part of the inspiration from watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. I had always wanted to explore this series deeply tied to mother nature . I wanted each painting to capture not just the element itself, but the energy and feeling it carries when embodied in human form. The faceless figures are intentional, I wanted them to be universal, something anyone can see themselves in. Each one is shaped by its element, almost dissolving into it, because we're not separate from nature. We carry all of these forces inside us: fire's passion, earth's strength, air's freedom, and water's adaptability.

Why is it important for you to create art with meaning or impact?
I believe art can create an emotional connection. When someone sees a piece and relates to it personally, it changes how they feel and how they see themselves.

Released on the 6th of October 2025, The Four Element Series is Kejii at her most intentional. Across four oil-on-canvas paintings, she brings those elemental forces to life through colour, texture, and form. Fire emerges in deep reds, oranges, and blackened shadows — the figure appears forged rather than consumed. Earth shifts the palette to ochres and browns, the silhouette heavy and grounded. The brushwork feels almost sculptural, as though the figure was carved from the land itself. Air is the lightest of the series, rendered in swirling blues touched with gold. The figure drifts at the edges, loosening, refusing containment. It does not dominate the canvas; it shares the space. And water flows in cool blues and soft whites, the silhouette surrendering into constant motion, blurring the line between body and environment. Notably, each figure takes the feminine form, Mother Nature embodied. The work is quietly stunning, asking not for attention but for stillness.

In a world oversaturated with art that demands attention, her work does something different: it asks you to be still. Her figures don't perform for the viewer; they simply exist, inviting you to find yourself in their silence. For a self-taught artist, she's building something quietly significant; a visual language rooted in emotion, identity, and the universal human experience. If this is what she's creating now, we're paying attention to what comes next. Released 26th January 2026.