Ray Soko is an artist based in the UK and is of British and Nigerian ancestry. He discovered his creative talent quite early in life and remembers drawing squiggly patterns in most of his exercise books in  primary school. This sometimes got him into trouble.

He studied at the renowned Fine Art Department of the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria Nigeria where he obtained both Bachelor and Master degrees in fine art. Ray does point out that coming from  two rich and distinctive backgrounds has really expanded his horizons both personally and as an artist

He draws a lot of inspirations from both backgrounds especially Africa which is quite  evident in his works. He says he uses his works to personally define, challenge . and explore the conflicting and confused  world around him. This could be social, cultural or political in nature. He goes on to say he finds areas like religion, death, procreation and superstition especially in the African context very interesting.

Ray’s works are mainly on wood with bold, gestural and expressive lines created with  various tools such as chainsaws, grinders, blow lamps, chisels, cutters and knives to mention a few. When asked how he came about his wood mixed media approach, he said he majored in sculpture but always had a soft spot for painting and this  was the only way of coming close merging the three  dimensional aspects of sculpture with the two dimensional aspects of painting. He uses the additive and subtractive approaches of sculpture on his main medium which is wood. He then finishes with other materials  like metal, glass, plastic dyes, paint and varnishes to create harmonious  surfaces of rich texture and colour.

Over the years he has held solo exhibitions and participated in numerous group exhibitions in Nigeria, USA, UK and Germany. Ray is also a member of the Nigeria Art Society United Kingdom (NASUK)