Visual Artist · Photographer · Storyteller
John Lekan
Human beauty, captured one frame at a time. Award-winning fine-art photography exploring identity, resilience and the quiet poetry of everyday life. Exhibited in London, Lagos, Birmingham, Bradford, Hastings and Leicester.
Aworan: African Lenses
Lightbox Gallery · LCB Depot, Leicester
Photographs and digital art by John Olalekan Durojaye - around twenty-five framed works extending the conversation begun with my Lagos solo show, and opening at the start of UK Black History Month.
- 25 September - 10 October 2026 · Free entry
- Launch night Friday 25 September, 5-10pm
- Monday to Friday, 11am - 5pm · also open Saturday 10 October
- LCB Depot, 31 Rutland Street, Leicester LE1 1RE
The opening, on film
174 people came through the door on launch night, after 170 on the first day. This is how the room felt. Press play for sound.
A student of media, of life, and of photography
I am John Olalekan Durojaye - known as John Lekan, and to many simply John Lekan Durojaye. For over twelve years I have travelled the world with a camera, documenting the diverse beauty found in humanity and the remarkable things we have made as a species.
“The golden rule in the arts is that all rules are meant to be broken - and I am on the way to breaking them all.”
Aworan, my signature collection, gathers twelve years of composed and real-life art: images as timeless as nature itself, made to transfer you into stillness when you look at them.
Read My Full StoryFrom the Aworan Collection
Composed and real-life art telling the story of my travels and the people I have met along the way. Click any piece to view it up close.
Ascension
WOMAN
Liquid Serenity
Eternal Glow
Recently
Aworan: African Lenses opens at LCB Depot
170 visitors on day one and 174 at the launch. Read the launch story and watch the film.
Creative Visionary of the Year 2025/26
Presented by the Lord Mayor of Westminster at a ceremony attended by Grammy winner Wouter Kellerman and global media leaders.
Summer Exhibitions 2026
Iya Laje at the RBSA Summer Show (to 1 August), the Summer Exhibition 2026 at the Stables Theatre & Arts Centre (27 July - 26 September), and Sanctuary of Nature at BAFA (1-18 August).
Aworan - Solo at Atirira Gallery
A homecoming solo showcase where In Thought was acquired by a private collector - the collection's first sale.
Looking for the photographer, not the artist?
Alongside my fine-art practice, I run Camera Boss my wedding and lifestyle photography studio serving the UK and Nigeria. Testimonials, pricing, galleries and bookings all live there.
Visit CameraBoss.co.uk ↗